Hikmat Dangol
Education is knowledge or skill that human beings possess. Due to the education, they seemed as if they had been able to control even bacteria to giant animals like elephant, even the lion and others. They seemed as if they could do everything as their wish. But it has been a false story when the pandemic Covid -19 corona virus which has begun from Wuhan of China and spread out mostly all over the world. Mostly the most developed countries used to boast on their discovery, science and technology but the corona has left them speechless when the world has been in lockdown situation. There is no place left to boast that human beings have done a lot and made their life comfortable. Instead it has challenged the so called science and scholars that whatever they have done is worthless and proves that humans’ discovery can be destroyed in a wink if nature wants.
See around the world mostly to the western part of the world. What we can see. They have been most developed countries and mostly educated people reside there, we think. Are the castles, skyscraper buildings, slippery black topped roads, schools, universities, hospitals, industries, planes, jet planes, rockets, etc the sign of developments? If we judge them through materialists lens indeed they are but if we judge them through humanitarian lens what they are doing, we can see, more or less, less human activities they are doing. America talks about democracy and human rights as well as equality but what it has been doing to its people and other neighbouring countries is like the open sky. Everyone can read them. In the name of discovery producing weapons to kill human beings is a less human activity. Why the so called academicians and universities of the world have been failed to sooth humans and make them stop fighting in the name of geography, races, cultures, religions and the skin. Why so innumerable wars have been fought in the world since long time back.
War is fought. Why? When there is ego centric feeling arises in human psyche it creates enmity and ultimately leads to bloodshed. When war is fought what will be the outcome of the war. Who will be the winners? Can those who defeat others be the winners? Can they be satisfied with the deeds they did? I think no. I have read somewhere that even the Alexander Great regretted the war that he led during his life but at the end of his life he asked his fellowmen to keep his hands in the open sky. What it means. He realized that war was worthless. Whatever he did was wrong. He was able to conquer mostly the world but when he was approaching the day to bid bye from the earth he might have realized that what he had done was wrong as Gita, the holy script of Hindus says- each human gets birth alone and dies alone. When someone dies what he gets at the end. Nothing. Here at this era too, when someone dies due to the corona virus, he is not even receiving the final ritual. His castle, wealth, reputation, kiths and keens are no longer with him. Thus the education of the world must create harmony between people but not the enmity. War in any names should be avoided but the seeds of love and kindness should be given to all learners and must spread them out all over the world like the pandemic covid-19 corona virus. It has threatened the world but the love and kindness can spread smile to the lips which have forgotten to open.
What the education is. Is proving superiority with arms bullets, explosive power, colonizing other small countries education? Indeed not. Thus the soul goal of the world education must end every type of discrimination prevailing at every corner. There is an elephant in the room of each nation education. Each nation should equip each child with human traits. Everyone has to respect to all equally. Everyone has to end the feeling of superiority and inferiority, black and white as well as poor and rich or any name of creeds and make them the matter of the past. Every learner has to internalize that the work is worship and there should be equality to the wages of labour or works in every corner of each nation. Let them learn how to live independently. Let them feel proud to those who earn and expense of their own way rather than boasting to the parental properties as AbrhamLincoln asked his son’s head teacher to teach him that earning a single dollars by himself is worthier than the 5pounds given by others. It means giving a plate full of fish to feed the hungry one will be meaningless instead of giving a hook and the skill to catch fish in the river to live him the days ahead too. It means education means let the learners learn the life skills that can help them live with the knowledge they acquired while studying at schools and universities.
The education should make everyone realize that doctors are only for the patients but peasants are for all. See around the world that the world respects whom. Indeed the doctors’ but peasants are ignored and low paid. Is it fair? If doctors don’t check the patients, only the patients die or suffer more but if farmers stop to grow everyone including them die. In the same way doctors performance never works if hospitals are dirty. Who keep the hospitals clean? Cleaners. Who are paid high? Doctors by name are of great importance and more or less they are the souls of hospitals. There might be the same family numbers both in doctor and cleaner’s family. The filthiest job the cleaners do. But they receive low payment and people ignore them too. Thus the institutions must teach them that every work is interrelated to each other. In one’s absence another can be feeble. Each one needs others’ help. It is the place where our education system in the world is derailing. Every work should be equally paid whether they are physical works or mental works. The post or position itself shows his/her status but not the payment. let everyone choose the work themselves to do but the payment of each work should be more less equal in wages it’s because everyone needs more or less equal quantity of food and equal family members too.
The concept of colonization and suppressing to the neighbouringcountries according to their territories and the population as well as development and their strength should not be parameter to judge to each other but make them realize how human they are. Both suppressing and humiliating other are inhuman activities.From the very beginning of education each nation should teach a child to be independent. They have to teach them to possess humility, be kind hearted, social, enjoy helping other rather than receiving help from other, a man with no greed, and live in dignity, feel proud of their own origin and promise to pass it to the future generation too. They have to possess human traits that have to be common in each society and nation. Each nation should teach learners to respect elders and love younger. They should teach their children to be patriotic and love to their motherland. They have to know the difference between sympathy and empathy and prefer to the empathy.
In the context of Nepal, schools and universities have been able to produce unproductive manpower. On the on hand hands parents have to spend a lot of money, on the other hand they are not supposed to stay in Nepal. From the end of school level study, children dream to be abroad for their study and spend their live at the end when they complete their education too.Nation and children’s parents have been alone at the end. Having everything like soil, water, nature and human resources, Nepal has been falling back. Why? It’s because of failure of our education. Our education system has not been able to produce good human resources who hate corruption, nepotism, anarchism, have faith in them but compel to be dependent to flourish their career where they are. Mostly the slogans in the street from Rana regimes to the so called republic country Nepal are the same to the rulers. Why?
It’s because political system themselves do nothing. Human beings run them. If wrong doers lead the government or the institution or the society, what can we hope from them? So is happening here in Nepal. Political slogans have been the false promises to the ignorant people. Nepal can do nothing if the doers do not keep to their promises into effort wholeheartedly and work for the sake of Nepal and her people. If water, our cultures, soil, and natural resources are properly used, our nation Nepal can march forward in no time. Therefore, from the very beginning of education, our educational institutions should teach them what they need to survive, how they can earn themselves, how they can give up greed, how they can stay in Nepal, how they can be members of good governance, how they can be entrepreneur rather than job seekers, how they can create harmony between castes, cultures, tradition and language or how they respect to each other.
Moreover eastern philosophy seems traditional and superstitious but has scientific reasons beyond each. So, eastern philosophy can be included in our education system. Big wars like the Ramayan and Mahabharat were fought in the name of religion. War itself is not good and ultimately whether the virtuous ones win but they also lose. Whether in Mahabharata or in the Ramayan who won? Could they be able to live in peace and lead the contemporary society well? Could they have children to continue their dynasty ahead? Wars were wrong and millions of millions people were killed at the end the winners had to listen to the lamentation of the bereaved family members. So has been here in present context of Nepal. A decade long Maoist insurgencies what Nepalese have got. Only the political system changed but the slogans in the street are the same as in the past they used to chant against the contemporary government. Today’s demand is to change the mindset through education and produce good human resources for future Nepal.
There are some references in eastern philosophy that they seem irrational but if we relate them to the contemporary happenings, we find them very real. For example, in the Swosthani KathaElephant garlanded Nabraj and made the king of Lawanya Desh .Now we can see what about Dr. Ram Varan Yadab and Bidhydevi Bhadari the contemporary presidents of Nepal. In the Ramayan, when Laxman was wounded, Hanuman picked up the mountain filled with the herbs and took it to the camp of battlefield. Was it possible or not? In the same way, Parsuramchopped his mother’s head off. Later his father Jagadamni asked him to ask for boon. Then he asked his father to let his mother in earlier position. He chanted Mantras and joined the beheaded head onto her body and let her life again. In the same way, Krishna lifted the Goverdan Hill to save the dwellers of Gokul. Kaamdhenu Gai (cow) used to give the foods as Jagadamni sage and his wife commanded her. In addition to it, Lord Shiva could see Parbati with his third eyes whenever or wherever she used to hide her. Arjun used to receive so many weapons in his necessity and used to kill his enemies in the battlefield. There are so many references to relate to the contemporary society. Are these only stories or real science? Today’s education must do research on these matter and should apply them in our education system if they are possible.
The medium of teaching should be of Nepali to make all Nepalese feel proud of Nepal and be familiar with all Nepalese. To communicate with the world English is compulsory too. Sanskrit language is nearly as dead language but it has science inside. To study about science from the holy scripts of Hindus, we need Sanskrit language too. It should be taught as an optional subject for those who want to learn from Sanskrit. Especially four Vedas are the sources of knowledge. Thus basic school education should fulfill the basic needs of learners; communicate, read and write and calculate some daily earnings and expenses. High schools education should mould them what they want to be in future. Only theoretical matters do not work. Instead of talking about water, our education should make the learners know that river is not only the body of water but it should make them feel that there is electricity inside water, source of income, residents of water animals and other. Our education should make the learners know about it and make them able to raise question on any matter they like. If they begin to question, they are on the way of science as well as philosophy too. Newton raised questions, why an apple of a tree falls down on the earth but never goes up in the sky. This question made him scientist. So every learner should be able to raise question on any matter they are interested.
Instead of saying cow is a mammal and it gives milk to us. If our education system makes the learners reach to the cow shed and see the famer milking cow automatically they know many more things than the written words in the text books. We should not let our learners dream to abroad but we should develop our education institutions as international hubs for leanings. We should focus towards these topics. If foreigner students come to study here, they have to spend huge amount of money as our present youths are spending nowadays to the foreign universities. Staying in a foreign strand means on the one hand they are losing their own identity and secondly they are doing injustice to the nation too. Our education system should focus on how we can use our mine in our development. How we can produce more agricultural production. If we are independent in our food, we can develop nation too. First survive and secondly find the way of development relating to the science and technologies to our modern education. There must be fusion toour past and present education. Let the learners be Nepal lovers and equally respect to the foreigners. Let them learn to solve every hurdle through dialogue but not with arms. Our education system should focus to create the feeling of brotherhood and live and let all live in harmony as well as in peace.
Chandra Kanta Pandit
For Head teacher
Pashupati Mitra Secondary school, Chabahil,Kathmandu
9851148379
