Education is the image and reflection of society and it could be the force to transform society and resolve social ills. Teachers are the agents of transformation, education the stimulus and the students are the recipients and preservers of transformation.
So how does education facilitate social transformation? What role education play in solving social problems? How education and social issues are co-related? Our new edition revolves around these questions.
The relationship between education and politics is as old as democracy itself. Education and politics are enmeshed in the network of overlapping and interlocking strands which forms the fabric of society and cannot be taken out of each other. Our Cover Story attempts to analyse this symbiotic relationship between education and politics and look over how politics determine many aspects of education and vice versa.
“Since the dawn of time, inequity in educational quality has remained unresolved. In India there are many factors that create the obstacle for equal and high-quality education across demographic variance. People relocate in order to obtain the highest quality education, but then they have to sacrifice their financial resources in order to do so; otherwise, the learning experience is compromised,” observes Mr. Chandrahas Panigrahi, Co-founder and CEO, Edukemy. In an exclusive interaction with Education Today, he elucidates education is rather a weapon than a tool for social and political emancipation because it acts as a bridge between the cultural disparity making people more accepting and tolerant towards each other.
In his thought-provoking article, Mr Vinesh Menon, CEO-Education, Skilling & Consulting Services, Ampersand Groupexplains the correlation between education and social Issues. If the government is serious about reducing the social issues and challenges that exist in the country, a key need would be to bridge the economic and emotional divide amongst its citizens and this can only begin with quality and relevant education to every single child above the age of 3, opines Mr Menon.
Education provides empowerment, it removes poverty, reduces crime in the society, maintains law and order and uplifts weaker sections of the society. Widespread education can initiate and channelize social changes by bringing about a change in the very outlook and thought pattern of individuals. Yet, the most disturbing fact is that though education plays vital role in betterment of society, it is the society and the prevailing social issues that have an adverse effect on education. Says Mr. Jitendra Nayak, Assistant Professor and Head of Department, Department of Political Science & IR, School of Liberal Arts and Culture Studies (SoLACS), Adamas University in his enlightening article.
The National Education Policy 2020 is an ambitious and progressive document that aims to transform and revitalize school and higher education in the country. In its overall scope and in its details, the policy seems to bring together best practices from successful education systems across the world. However, does the policy entirely reflect the ground realities of our education system and overall socioeconomic situation? Adarsh Khandelwal, Co-founder, Collegify sought to answer this question through his insightful article.