Skill-based education must be encouraged

“Education is a ship that takes to the port of success”. If you climb this ship, you can easily cross the sea of troubles and make your life meaningful.

It is thus an institution, which plays a vital role in integrating an individual with his society and in maintaining the perpetuation of culture.

When we say education, the first thing that comes to mind is the range of subjects we are taught in school every day from morning to evening followed by tests and exams. We believe learning these subjects and scoring good marks in exams are the only way to earn ourselves a reputable future.

Many say a good education is the key to a bright future. But what type of education? If the future is a building, education is the foundation. Education should not only be about preparing someone to make a good living in the future but it should be about creating an ideal world where all living beings can exist in harmony.

Education should be inclusive in that it should be available to all children irrespective of functionality, gender, caste and status. Children with different abilities should also be part of the mainstream education system.

Today, there are so many problems in the world — wars, natural disasters, inequality, poverty, discrimination. The world would have been a better place if people were taught to be more accepting, respectful, caring and compassionate to each other.

Children should be educated in such a way that they become responsible humans —responsible towards humanity, the world and the environment — for a sustainable future. It should teach us how every individual can make a difference in the world.

Education in today’s world should be skill-based as all individuals have different and specific skills that should be developed and nurtured.

In conclusion, we surely have to consider the importance of education in the advanced world but, also have to admit that skill-based education will escalate its effectiveness and efficiency.

We should also acknowledge the contribution of advanced technologies to modern day education and its development. In addition, we need to remember that the sky is the limit and still a lot remains to be achieved to build a stronger base for education ‘‘the foundation for a better advanced and developed world’’.

(Contributed by Simiran Mohapatra. The essay was among the top 3 write-ups on the topic ‘Education for all’)