Daily Times

Education is a process of advancing learning and acquiring knowledge, values, and virtue. It contributes to the development of better people and society around the globe. It is more of an enduring method in which people gain information, skills, and ethics. A narrow line runs between learning and education, as we learn from everything we come across, from birth to death. On the contrary, we get educated at a certain point in our life with imparted knowledge. Our learning evolves with personal experience, which bears no rules, whereas schools or universities impart education based on particular standards, which are clear and measurable goals drawn on skills and knowledge that children must obtain. Moreover, education means studying subjects for deeper knowledge and to understand the various subjects which are going to use in our daily life. One of the biggest advantages of education is that it changes our perspectives to see life. It provides us with the sense to distinguish between the good, the bad, the right, and the wrong. And education starts from our childhood, and it is a lifelong process that is going to end with our death. If society is not well educated, it will struggle a lot to survive and grow and cannot give a bright future to our world.

Education involves learning anything new. It can be a skill, theory, literature, or a way to complete or finish things smartly. Europe realized the importance of education way before other nations and regions, and that is one of the major reasons why people there live a way better life. It is a vital tool that enables a person to know his rights and duties towards his family, society, and country.  Education develops the vision of a person to see the world and also the capacity to fight against the wrong things, like, injustice, corruption, violence, etc. Also, it improves the confidence of a person in his life and is helpful to get him to succeed at everything. Governments all over the globe are investing their money in the education of the citizen to become a better economy and a peaceful place to be lived at. In terms of personal development, education can help individuals become more informed and critical thinkers. Moreover, it can help them develop their creativity and problem-solving skills, which are essential for their personal growth, well-being, and to live a happy married life.

When it comes to pursuing higher education from abroad, every country has its own set of pros and cons. While one country may score well on the infrastructure, the other may offer degree programs that are new and unique. For instance, if we take into consideration parameters like quality of living, teacher-student ratio, and availability of public resources for studies, the list would include the countries that have shaped modern education, like Finland, Norway, Japan, Russia, etc. Thus, deciding which country offers high-quality education can be difficult. Based on the parameters like the types of programs offered, interdisciplinarity in programs, placements, university rankings, and the number of enrolled international students, it has been observed that the countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, USA, Australia, Denmark, have the best education system all over the globe. Harvard (United States of America) is the best higher education institute in the world, followed by Oxford (England) and several other institutes.

On the other hand, Asian countries, specifically Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, are way behind the developed nations due lack of standard education and low literacy rate.  If Pakistan wants to grow in every sector and to be recognized as one of the peaceful and powerful nations, it must promote quality education. And getting at least a middle education should be made compulsory for children out there. According to estimates, more than 10 million children don’t have any open roads to get them educated. Because our government does not spend much on providing education. And the sad part is, we spend only a bit above 2% of our annual budget on education. In opposition to that, we should encourage every single child to enroll in schools and provide them with free courses, stationery, and books. So, poverty can no longer be a reason for someone to stay away from getting primary education.

The government must promote education and spend at least 10% of the annual budget on education, making new schools, colleges, and universities and renovating the ones already there but are not given proper attention. In addition, we must empower our women, as educated women can help a better community grow and flourish quickly. Recently, the honorable President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Dr. Arif Alvi) awarded Professor Dr. Rukhsana David. (Principal Kinnaird College), for her excellent devotion and contribution to making the college a prestigious education institute for the daughters and sisters of the country. She and all of her staff, including the HODs, professors, and senior faculty members, are working wholeheartedly to provide women with the best quality education. Moreover, all of our government institutions should contribute towards collecting more revenue and spending it properly, such as hiring more teachers and providing free education to students enrolled in different institutions. I hope that soon, our country will become a place where international students from different countries will come to get an education to heal the world.

The writer is a social analyst & educationist. He can be reached at figure786@hotmail.com.