Understanding Education, knowledge and Career

 ... Isn't it the time to think about where we are going and what is the purpose?

Today majority of students are struggling day and night to get a seats in prestigious colleges or universities, so that they can get good percentage and a job in a reputed company. Finally so that they can earn lots and lots of money for themselves and their children.  Again their children would study in school for the sake of getting seats in good colleges, universities, then jobs in companies and this circle goes on  ....Even when it comes to selection of groups / streams or options in higher education, many parents force their children to take the group that has more earning potential in today's market. They fail to understand that their child has to work in that field all their life, sometimes without even being interested in that subject/ field.

 Is the selection of a career only motivated by its potential to earn money?
Doesn't it matter whether the person is interested or not in that work or field? Millions of parents and children are blindly participating in this race for survival, without realising the meaning and use of education or knowledge, without understanding what a career means and what is the means of working somewhere? Many of my students keep asking me which group to opt in engineering or which specialization to take up in MBA etc. I just tell them to understand the meaning of each option, know about the kind of aspects dealt in each field, then think on which field or aspects they would be interested to work all through their life. What kind of work would they do with interest and dedication forever? If they choose a field of their basic interest, they would work effortlessly and would also contribute a lot to the development of that field also.Choosing some field just because there is better pay scale or earning potential is ridiculous.

In the process of interaction with my neighbours, I was speaking with a boy of class X.
I came to know that he was studying daily from morning 4am till night 11pm, includes studying at home, school and tuitions, home tuitions etc. He was spending almost 18 hours a day to study for the so called great challenge of his life so far .. . SSC.  He simply learned because he has to get a seat in a good college, thereby get a good rank in the competitive exams such as EAMCET, AIEEE, IIT etc. He was least bothered what that concepts meant and how or where it is applied in the real life.

Today majority of students are learning their lessons, question and answers, objective, problems etc for the single purpose of gaining marks in some exam.Parents and educational institutions are measuring the efforts by number of hours, rather than the knowledge gained by the student. Education is meant to give us knowledge. The basic aim of a student is supposed to be gaining knowledge, not just for the sake of marks, but for the pleasure of gaining knowledge itself. We need to develop a thirst for knowledge, a scientific temper and a desire to learn more among the students. The more they learn, the more they would understand the world around them. It would help them lead a better meaningful life ! Society need to abstain their stress upon gaining higher percentages, marks or ranks, rather show keen interest in developing the available knowledge and thereby motivate the next generations to gain new knowledge and pursue new concepts, systems and technologies for a better world.

Many parents are forcing their children to take M.P.C. / science groups even though the children are not interested in maths or science, after their 10th class.  They see C.E.C. / arts groups as a subject for dull students. But again that's a wrong notion.Sciences and Arts have their own fields of application and their own branches which are thriving successfully. There are many challenging careers one can opt in Arts groups too.   But biased thinking of some parents and misunderstanding of some sectors is leading to the forcing of students into the fields in which they are not at all interested. That would only result in their failure or would produce a bad workmen in that field. Finally, unable to cope up with the way they have chosen or forced into, they are taking an exit by "committing suicides". There are many opportunities in every field. Let us not see this world with our own limitations and force it on the next generations.


Is it the purpose of education only to gain livelihood or earn money? Is the purpose of knowledge only to equip us to secure higher jobs and salaries? Is the purpose of life only to survive in this world with better financial status? Today many bridges or fly overs fall down due to few engineers who lack proper knowledge, many patients die due to the wrong medication of some ignorant doctors, lakhs of culprits roam about freely due to many lawyers without morals, thousands of terrorists strike the peace in this world due to their immoral character and lack of understanding on the beauty of life and its purpose.

Education should help an individual to become a better person in the first place. Teach them proper values and principles to lead a meaningful life.  Education should inspire them to learn more and create a thirst for knowledge such that they could contribute to the development of our mankind. Education should give the required knowledge to the individual to work efficiently and effectively in their field. Education should be the reason behind the progress of humanity. It should not be the reason for the consistent pressure created on their minds. I request everyone to think on this and speak to the people who lack proper perspective on Education and those who ultimately force millions of students into uninteresting jobs.


Let the children
GAIN KNOWLEDGE not merely Marks
Choose the field of THEIR INTEREST
Work for ACHIEVEMENT not merely for earning Money
become a GOOD HUMAN not just an educated person.


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    Manikanth P.

    Hyderabad, Andhrapradesh, India
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