CORRUPTIO OPTIMI PESSIMA

 In their speeches, all our leaders talk about the development of the nation. Our present Prime Minister Mr. Modi once said “I have a vision of a Modern India. I have embarked on a huge mission to convert that vision into reality. My mantra is Development.”

The concept of development is almost as old as civilization; it has been the driving force behind all progress in the history of mankind. And although in the current modern times, it finds the most amount of mention while describing economic and monetary state of affairs, it is pertinent to all walks of human life, whether social, technological, psychological or personal. Development is a phenomenon, so holistic and fundamental that if understood closely it would help define the very purpose of our lives, but how often do we see it that way? The book that I am currently reading, ‘Small is Beautiful – A Study of Economics as if People Mattered’ by E F Schumacher has touched my heart indescribably and helped me see things in a very different light, the mention of which will be frequently seen in the current and probably even my next article.

So, what is development? For me, development is simply the process that creates a positive change. However, after the era of Industrial Revolution, the idea shifted from ‘a generic construct that designates the most varied aspects related to humanity’s well-being’, to the ‘use of latest technology’ (especially in manufacturing processes). From then on, it became a yardstick to rank and compare all nations. With GDP and per capita income being the only initial indicators of level of development, we have now moved to a much wider range of parameters. One such popularly used parameter is the Human Development Index. The HDI may be understood as a statistical tool to measure a country’s overall achievement based on the health of people, their level of education attainment and their standard of living. The process of calculation of HDI is a different topic altogether, but what I would like to come at in this article is the importance of education in the development of a nation. Even in the book, Schumacher has dedicated an entire chapter to education, calling it ‘the greatest and the most vital of all resources’. 

The contribution of education in the progress of a society is not an undiscovered idea. The question then to be asked is not ‘if or how education aids development’, the real question is ‘what kind of education will aid real development’? And by real development, I mean a long term sustainable change, not just for the environment or for few sections of the society, but for the entire (or at least majority of) populace. Talking about the kind of education,  are there different types of education? There surely are different subjects and specialties and super specialties to be studied, but all in a structured setup of classrooms at organizations like schools and colleges, and from textbooks or other prescribed sources of information to ultimately attain an impressive score card or a degree and secure a financially prosperous future. That is the motto we adhere to and that is the only method of education we know of. What rubbish is this idea about ‘kind of education’ then? To understand this better, let us look back at the evolution of education.

Education probably dates back to the cave age, when humans started living in groups and taught their children skills they needed to become effective adults - like hunting, gathering, weapon making, finding life sustaining resources like food, water, shelter, etc. Though such education or rather passing on of knowledge did not happen in institutions, it was enough to help humans survive to see this present day. The first structured education emerged during 3000 BC in Mesopotamia and Egypt, after the discovery of writing, basically with an intent to provide moral teachings and religious instructions. Education during those times was provided as a by – product of learning and adhering to the dominant religious ideology. It was during the medieval times that questions about how the universe works, the concepts of rotation and revolution and Earth being round started emerging, and sharing of knowledge started to expand across the globe. India is often classified as one of the most ancient nations with rich legacies of culture and literary pursuits. Traditionally, only the boys from high caste or rich families were taught to read and write. In 1813, the British government in India took the responsibility of spreading education, replacing the Indian system with English Literature and Western Science through English medium. Lord Macaulay, who played an important role in this, expressed his mission to create a class of persons who should be ‘Indian in blood and colour but English in taste, opinions, morals and intellect.’ The aim was to educate the Indian elite primarily and wait for the effect to ‘trickle down’.

Being an educator, there is no way I could belittle the importance of structured education and scientific advancements it has led to, facilitating our lives with the modern day provisions and comforts. But looking at the challenges that we face today, my moral conscience does not allow me to turn a blind eye towards the lacunas in our education system. It is as Schumacher points out, “Science and engineering produce ‘know – how’; but ‘know – how’ is nothing by itself; it is a means without an end, a mere potentiality, an unfinished sentence. There is no doubt about the need to transmit 'know – how' but this must take second place, for it is obviously somewhat foolhardy to put great powers into the hands of people without making sure that they have a reasonable idea of what to do with them. At present, there can be little doubt that the whole of mankind is in mortal danger, not because we are short of scientific and technological know – how, but because we tend to use it destructively, without wisdom. More education can help us only if it produces more wisdom."  

The problem today, as I’ve mentioned multiple times before, is that we concentrate on the attainment of knowledge, deep intricate details. What we lack is teaching where and how to apply that knowledge. The prime goal of our fraternity, which in my understanding should be moulding children into positive, productive and contributory members of society, is not clearly understood. What drives much of our educational structure today is merely the preparation for future needs of various industries. Preparing for foreseeable future demands is essential, but it becomes dangerous if the preparation is too narrow. The obvious dilemma here is that society needs only a limited set of academics and at some point education must do more than just prepare students for an academic way of life. If students leave schools equipped with the skills, they will require to be self - directed learners then they may well be equipped to adapt to a changing world.    

There is no fixed formula or logic applicable to problem solving in the real life. And unlike mathematical equations, problems in life do not have fixed correct answers. But sadly, the standard dominant model of our education with its rigid approach to building knowledge, enforces conformity of the mind often dulling the curiosity of young minds. To quote from the movie ‘A Beautiful Mind’, “Classes will dull your mind. Destroy the potential for authentic creativity.” 

As mentioned in ‘Small is Beautiful’, G N M Tyrell emphasized on the terms ‘divergent’ and ‘convergent’ to distinguish problems which cannot be solved by logical reasoning from those that can. Thus convergent problems are those that do not as such exist in real life but can be solved, written down and explained to others easily. If we examine carefully, our entire education curriculum is full of solving such convergent problems. When we teach the law of demand or supply, we take help of ‘ceteris paribus’. And though I agree that such explanation is essential in teaching the effect of each factor, the methodology might actually be hampering our kids’ creativity, diffusing their ability to deal with real life scenarios. As Schumacher puts it “Dealing with convergent problems does not lead into life but away from it.”

Divergent problems on the other hand are problems we really face, problems that do not necessarily have a single or a fixed correct answer, at times might not even have an answer. Problems of politics, economics, education, marriage, etc; problems with reconciling opposites, where solutions cannot be found by any clever formula. These are problems that are exhausting and wearisome, and hence we try to run away from them or dodge them.

What our education should aim at, is boosting their inquisitive and creative instincts and value their ‘out of the box’ thinking, thus getting our young adults ready, to simplify (if not solve) these divergent problems. And that will come about only if we encourage kids to become learners for life. As life – long learners, our kids will desire to continuously gather more knowledge and learn new skills, enabling them to seek answers to questions not yet answered and even those not yet asked. If our students leave school with a belief in their ability and capacity to identify problems and find solution to them, then maybe they are prepared not only for whatever the future may bring but possess the capacity to shape that future.

But problem solving alone may not be enough. If the solutions, we find serve the needs of only of those who have power and freedom in society then education has failed to produce learners with the capacity to empathize with those less fortunate. The reality of the world we live in, where money and power results in educational advantage, where industry and economic rationalism dictates what problems get solved and where those with the greatest need have difficulty accessing equitable outcomes through the educational system, dictates that some thought to how our learners will understand and relate to power be included. Thus another integral feature of education must be embedding in children metaphysical notions of ethics, moral values, empathy and a deep sense of social responsibility, as the supposedly ‘trickle down’ effect hasn’t been much functional in the field of education. Education should enable an individual to act an agent of curbing the corruption (which seems to be at its peak) because as per Schumacher CORRUPTIO OPTIMI PESSIMA meaning thereby corruption of the best is the worst of all.  

To conclude I’d quote E F Schumacher, “Education can help us only if it produces ‘whole men’. The truly educated man is not a man who knows a bit of everything, not even the man who knows all the details of all subjects (if such a thing is possible): the ‘whole man’, in fact may have little knowledge of facts and theories, but he will be truly in touch with the centre. He will not be in doubt about his basic convictions, about his view on menacing and purpose of his life. He may not be able to explain these matters in words, but the conduct of his life will show a certain sureness of touch which stems from his inner clarity. We are suffering from a metaphysical disease, and the cure must therefore be metaphysical. Education which fails to clarify our central convictions is mere training. For it is our central convictions that are in disorder, and, as long as the present temper persists, the disorder will grow worse.

PS:  I would like to leave my readers with a question till my next post. Which of these is a more enriching experience: reaching a desired destination or the journey (process) to the desired destination?