At the convocation ceremony of the University of Oxford in England, I witnessed a scene that deeply made me think. There, male and female graduates were seen running joyfully past a frying pan with a piece of bread placed inside it. At first glance, the scene may appear strange or even childish to some. But when looked at more closely, it reveals a profound philosophy of education.
Education is not confined to memorizing textbooks; it is a harmonious blend of joy, tradition, culture, and human development. While this scene filled me with wonder, it also made me feel deeply disappointed when I reflected on our own education system. If something similar were to be organized in any school or college in our country, many would mock it as "unsmart," "hypocritical," or an unnecessary show.
In our context, education is still narrowly defined by grades, scores, and admission into reputed institutions. How humane, creative, or socially responsible a student becomes is often treated as a secondary concern.
The greatest crisis in our education system is its excessive exam orientation. From an early age, children are burdened with heavy textbooks, coaching centers, and the constant fear of exams. The joy of learning fades away, curiosity diminishes, and the habit of questioning is discouraged.
As a result, we are producing a generation that can memorize well but struggles to analyze; a generation that collects certificates yet feels lost when facing real-life challenges. So what is the way forward? Can bookish knowledge alone make a student a complete human being? I firmly believe the answer is no. Academic knowledge is essential, but it cannot be the sole foundation of education. Alongside it, we must emphasize technical and vocational education, life-oriented skills, technological literacy, and especially modern disciplines such as computer science.
The world we live in today is driven by technology, and education must prepare students not only to understand theories but also to apply them in practical contexts. Technical education and technological skills help students become self-reliant. They do not merely seek jobs; they gain the capacity to create opportunities for others as well.
Life-oriented education, on the other hand, teaches them how to behave as responsible human beings, how to act ethically, how to empathize with others, and how to contribute meaningfully to society. It is this integration of knowledge, skills, and values that can truly shape students into complete human beings.
I personally nurture a dream of establishing a school, a college, or even a private university someday. My goal would not be limited to producing students with impressive exam results, but to cultivate individuals who are knowledgeable, skilled, ethical, and patriotic.
In that institution, textbooks would coexist with sports, cultural activities, debates, research, and technology-based practices. Teachers would act as mentors and guides, not merely as exam invigilators or score distributors.
“The world we live in today is driven by technology, and education must
prepare students not only to understand theories but also to apply them
in practical contexts.”
I would want students there to learn how to think independently, how to ask meaningful questions, and how to learn from failure. Instead of preparing only for jobs, they would prepare for life itself. They would be encouraged to identify the problems of their society and country, and to search for innovative solutions. Education becomes meaningful only when it serves both individual growth and national development.
The critical question, however, is whether our current education system carries such an aspiration. Although a few positive initiatives can be observed, there is still a long way to go. Without collective awareness and commitment from policymakers, educators, parents, and students, meaningful reform will remain elusive. A fundamental shift in mindset is required, we must move beyond viewing education as a race for grades and certificates, and instead connect it with real life.
The day our educational institutions become places where students learn with joy, think creatively, and develop through a balance of technology and humanity, we will be able to say that we are progressing as a truly educated nation. Education will then no longer remain confined to bookish knowledge; it will emerge as the true craft of building human beings.
The writer is a journalist and MPhil researcher at Jagannath University
