Education is not to reform students… or to make them expert technicians. It is to unsettle their minds, widen their horizons, inflame their intellects and teach them to think straight | Robert Maynard Hutchins, president, University of Chicago (1929-1945)
The objective of education is to prepare students for success in life — in the workplace, in communities, and in their personal lives too. While this objective may have remained consistent for centuries, the world around colleges and universities is undergoing substantial change. Higher education is under pressure to meet greater expectations, whether for student numbers, educational preparation, and workforce needs, or economic development. Additionally, very few of the higher education institutions are adequately preparing their students for life, and especially the life of work and careers, after graduation.
The importance of higher education stems from the fact that it provides individuals with life skills that are essential to being successful in life. It helps in creating good citizens: People who are productive, but also good family members and neighbors, informed and engaged community members, civic-minded participants in making the immediate world a better place.
While studying at a higher education institution, one is also forced to develop essential time management skills much more so than at the high school level. With time needed for studying, attending classes, completing homework, relaxation, and doing fun activities as well, one needs to manage their time in order to avoid failing out. These time management skills help out individuals later on in life.
It is important to remember that education and literacy are distinct; therefore, the emphasis must always be on education. The elements of literacy should be integrated throughout the day in a social manner through music, theatre, games and in the form of group discussions where the educators’ job is to assist students in transitioning from one topic to another and students learn how the various disciplines are tied into the whole picture of reality.
A Chinese proverb says: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Higher education institutions must deliver on their promises and teach their students how to fish for a lifetime. About 100 years ago, higher education was restructured to meet the demands of the industrial age.
It has changed little since, even as the internet has transformed our lives completely. Another revolution is needed to modernise universities and prepare graduates for a 21st century working environment. It is now time for higher education institutions to fulfill their respective missions and truly prepare their students to lead lives of meaning and purpose – and be employable for life.
The writer is Natasha Chopra, Managing Director, The Chopras