Be the change that you want to see
By Shafaat Shahbandari:
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Shafaat Shabandri[/caption]
Great Scientist Albert Einstein once said: “education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think." Adding a line to that I would say it is also the nurturing of the heart to care for your surroundings.
Education can be divided into two parts, one that provides skills to help make a living and the other that transforms a person into a human being.
There was a time, during 1970s, 80s and early 90s, when our children didn't have much affinity towards education.
Their only fascination was to set sail for the foreign shores, halfway through high school or at the max after higher secondary. Only a handful set foot inside the college or university during those decades.
Economic circumstances of households did play a significant role in boys opting to work early, but most dropped out for lack of interest in studies.
With dreams to make it big, our youngsters made their way to foreign lands, mostly Arabian Gulf.
And those dreams brought them crashing down to the harsh reality once they set foot on foreign soil. Except for a few, who did achieve reasonable success, most toiled hard for a pittance.
When our elders realised that education is the only way through which our next generation can achieve greater financial success, they made it their mission to educate the next generations.
I must admit that we have had considerable success in this particular endeavour. And I congratulate all our educational institutions for this positive contribution.
Today, we have an assembly line of graduates coming out of various institutions every year and they land good jobs as well, mostly on foreign shores, bringing the much needed economic prosperity to hundreds of families.
Having said that, what we need to ask ourselves is “should economic prosperity be our only goal?”
Should we not ask ourselves that despite achieving a remarkable progress in education and being considerably well off, where do we stand in terms of social development and political representation?
Of what use is the education and wealth if we can't groom leaders who can represent us in the assembly and parliament?
What better use can we put our wealth to if we can't produce quality professors, researchers and reformers, who play a pivotal role in transforming every society?
So where does the problem lies?
The problem lies with our idea of education and with our attitude towards life.
What we have done is, we managed to equip our children with the skills that will land them good jobs, which is only job half done, but we have miserably failed to groom them as thinking and caring human beings.
Over the years, we have failed to develop a culture that encourages our youth to become administrators, sociologists, economists, educationists or agriculturists, because we think these sectors have little money and more hard work.
Agreed, that the focus in the past decades was to lift the community out of the rut of poverty and lay a solid foundation for future progress, but it’s about time now that we shift our focus to usher in a more holistic growth.
We have to groom our youngsters to make a positive contribution towards our society, the nation as well as the larger world, as much as we train them in ways of making a living.
We all realise that as a community we don’t have any presence in the government civil services sectors like IAS, IPS, KPS, IRS etc.
It is good that there is a general sense of awareness among people that we need to push our students to focus on administrative and civil services.
It’s high time we take some concrete steps towards realising this goal. But how are we going to achieve it?
These government jobs won't pay big money, so why would a young man opt for it? No amount of incentives will force our youth to take it up unless we stop them from thinking in terms of money.
Of late, we have seen some of our wealthy businessmen gleefully announce big rewards for students opting for IAS.
Their sentiments are appreciable. But, I suggest they should first set an example by dedicating their own children for the same, only then we can see a revolution coming.
We need to inculcate in our children values that drive home the point that jobs are not taken up only for money. Service should be our real motto.
Schools can play a great role in this regard, by imbibing in students the virtues of serving the community.
Creating a passion for service and a sense of respect for those who serve us is a must if we mean to move ahead as a community. Staying aloof will create a bigger gap between us and those who serve us, which does and will work to our disadvantage.
It is imperative on us to create in our youth an urge to help improve the lives of those simple folks who produce everything from what we eat to what we wear. We need to appreciate their efforts and the role they play in our lives.
Do we ever ponder on the lives of farmers and fishermen who toil hard to get the basmati rice, the fruits or the jumbo prawns on our plates. All we teach our children is how to make the cash to buy the fish, whether it’s for Rs 500 per kg or Rs 1,000 per kg.
We all realise that there is a need for change and we keep talking about it, expecting somebody to take up the mantle. But, that’s not going to happen.
Unless and until each one of us doesn't take the responsibility of change and do our bit, it won't happen.
Unless and until we don't change our mentality and the culture of materialism, we can't expect to see any big changes.
Unless and until we don't build institutions that will inculcate values of humanity and social reform, we won't see any change.
Unless and until we don't spend our resources on grooming young leaders, we can't expect a change.
Unless and until we don't develop a love for the land and sow seeds of change, we can’t reap the harvest of change.
For change to happen we have to be the change.
Writer is a journalist based in Dubai
Shafaat Shabandri[/caption]
Great Scientist Albert Einstein once said: “education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think." Adding a line to that I would say it is also the nurturing of the heart to care for your surroundings.
Education can be divided into two parts, one that provides skills to help make a living and the other that transforms a person into a human being.
There was a time, during 1970s, 80s and early 90s, when our children didn't have much affinity towards education.
Their only fascination was to set sail for the foreign shores, halfway through high school or at the max after higher secondary. Only a handful set foot inside the college or university during those decades.
Economic circumstances of households did play a significant role in boys opting to work early, but most dropped out for lack of interest in studies.
With dreams to make it big, our youngsters made their way to foreign lands, mostly Arabian Gulf.
And those dreams brought them crashing down to the harsh reality once they set foot on foreign soil. Except for a few, who did achieve reasonable success, most toiled hard for a pittance.
When our elders realised that education is the only way through which our next generation can achieve greater financial success, they made it their mission to educate the next generations.
I must admit that we have had considerable success in this particular endeavour. And I congratulate all our educational institutions for this positive contribution.
Today, we have an assembly line of graduates coming out of various institutions every year and they land good jobs as well, mostly on foreign shores, bringing the much needed economic prosperity to hundreds of families.
Having said that, what we need to ask ourselves is “should economic prosperity be our only goal?”
Should we not ask ourselves that despite achieving a remarkable progress in education and being considerably well off, where do we stand in terms of social development and political representation?
Of what use is the education and wealth if we can't groom leaders who can represent us in the assembly and parliament?
What better use can we put our wealth to if we can't produce quality professors, researchers and reformers, who play a pivotal role in transforming every society?
So where does the problem lies?
The problem lies with our idea of education and with our attitude towards life.
What we have done is, we managed to equip our children with the skills that will land them good jobs, which is only job half done, but we have miserably failed to groom them as thinking and caring human beings.
Over the years, we have failed to develop a culture that encourages our youth to become administrators, sociologists, economists, educationists or agriculturists, because we think these sectors have little money and more hard work.
Agreed, that the focus in the past decades was to lift the community out of the rut of poverty and lay a solid foundation for future progress, but it’s about time now that we shift our focus to usher in a more holistic growth.
We have to groom our youngsters to make a positive contribution towards our society, the nation as well as the larger world, as much as we train them in ways of making a living.
We all realise that as a community we don’t have any presence in the government civil services sectors like IAS, IPS, KPS, IRS etc.
It is good that there is a general sense of awareness among people that we need to push our students to focus on administrative and civil services.
It’s high time we take some concrete steps towards realising this goal. But how are we going to achieve it?
These government jobs won't pay big money, so why would a young man opt for it? No amount of incentives will force our youth to take it up unless we stop them from thinking in terms of money.
Of late, we have seen some of our wealthy businessmen gleefully announce big rewards for students opting for IAS.
Their sentiments are appreciable. But, I suggest they should first set an example by dedicating their own children for the same, only then we can see a revolution coming.
We need to inculcate in our children values that drive home the point that jobs are not taken up only for money. Service should be our real motto.
Schools can play a great role in this regard, by imbibing in students the virtues of serving the community.
Creating a passion for service and a sense of respect for those who serve us is a must if we mean to move ahead as a community. Staying aloof will create a bigger gap between us and those who serve us, which does and will work to our disadvantage.
It is imperative on us to create in our youth an urge to help improve the lives of those simple folks who produce everything from what we eat to what we wear. We need to appreciate their efforts and the role they play in our lives.
Do we ever ponder on the lives of farmers and fishermen who toil hard to get the basmati rice, the fruits or the jumbo prawns on our plates. All we teach our children is how to make the cash to buy the fish, whether it’s for Rs 500 per kg or Rs 1,000 per kg.
We all realise that there is a need for change and we keep talking about it, expecting somebody to take up the mantle. But, that’s not going to happen.
Unless and until each one of us doesn't take the responsibility of change and do our bit, it won't happen.
Unless and until we don't change our mentality and the culture of materialism, we can't expect to see any big changes.
Unless and until we don't build institutions that will inculcate values of humanity and social reform, we won't see any change.
Unless and until we don't spend our resources on grooming young leaders, we can't expect a change.
Unless and until we don't develop a love for the land and sow seeds of change, we can’t reap the harvest of change.
For change to happen we have to be the change.
Writer is a journalist based in Dubai
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