How education has changed lives

June 19, 2019

• Topical

We have all felt it. The 9am Monday morning, the Friday seventh period that just seems to go on forever and that Tuesday lunch; where the week just doesn’t seem to be moving. For years we have all gone to school and at frequent points during the year have continually questioned its existence. Whilst we all know that it’s a legal requirement and not only that but no education means no job and that’s where things get scary enough for us to stop questioning it. But do we truly understand the power and importance that education has on modern lives and how much of a transformative effect it has on society.

So here is our case study to show for this effect that education has, Vysarpadi is a region located in Chennai, India. This region was known for its violence, gang culture and constant clashing with law enforcement. The Government and private organisations such as Child Relief has invested in Government classes and sports centres. The results are obvious, attendance in class has increased, while incidents of juvenile crime have decreased.

This case study is but a microcosm of what the effect of education has on society as a whole as we can see from this study published by UNESCO.   Global Education Monitoring(GEM) Report 2016

• Education helps reduce inequality in cities by giving people vital skills for work: Street vendors make up one-third of urban employment in India and one-sixth in South Africa.

• Education reduces working poverty: It affects almost 90% of workers in low income countries. Increasing tertiary education in 10 recent EU member states would reduce numbers at risk of poverty by 3.7 million.

• Education improves health and reduces fertility rates: Educating mothers increased reliance on exclusive breastfeeding by 90% for the first six months.
• Education needs to keep up with labour market needs: By 2020 the world could have 40 million too few workers with tertiary education, relative to demand.

So, it is here that we can see that although for us school may be a pariah it provides it is an integral part of shaping, building and (as our case study show) in rectifying society.

The recurring theme of development is that it goes hand in hand with education. The main reason for the economic boom of China and India of the past 20 years has been the fierce drive of the people to be educated and universal education to be spread throughout the country. This is because it helps to break down the barriers of society as well as (most importantly) opportunities. Schools help to break down tensions of race, religion and social inequality. In well developed countries children are generally taught equally and benefit equally. The values we attempt to uphold in the modern world are being put into practice and are there to see for the future generations. Hopefully it will therefore allow the further progression of the modern world with these values held as a cornerstone.

So, while the progression of schools is far from being complete and there are many more challenges to be faced with the developments of schools especially in Third World Nations. We can see why it has been a very important factor in shaping the modern world. So, the next you find yourself staring out the window of a Friday afternoon lesson begging for the bell to go and wonder why you sit here, just think of its revolutionary effect.