We have always heard how education is the most powerful weapon that can change this world. However, is pen always mightier than the sword?
The problem is that the modern world thinks education is a loosely spun alternative of knowledge. But that is not the case. While knowledge empowers us, the present-day education system has divided the society and bred certain constructs that have done more harm than good.
But how is that? Read on to find out!
Here we discuss ten points that give us a different perspective on education and how it breaks our society rather than uniting it.
Education is always assumed to be a “good thing”
We have always considered education a good thing as society forced us to believe. However, you will be shocked to find out how many of the most notorious criminals have been to Ivy League schools and are highly educated. Although education is supposed to uproot our age-old beliefs and superstitions, it has been repeatedly proved that being educated has nothing to do with being learned.
Moreover, if they already have a distorted mentality, education can only add fuel to that fire. They will learn more about human psychology, how to make arms and ammunition, and how to inflict maximum damage in their quest for vengeance. So, we can say that education is not always a good thing and can divide us more than uniting.
It enhances our skills at the expense of others
Education definitely helps us to learn more. A human being learns to be more rational, informative, and better at expressing themselves with proper education. However, this has a flipside as well. Scientific reports have repeatedly stated that education is also the main reason for losing common sense. Young minds are always inquisitive and eager to absorb new things. However, exposing the young mind to a monotonous education system makes them reluctant to know new things.
They become more introverted, loses their natural instinct, and become less curious to ask interesting questions. So, education certainly hones one side of us, but at the expense of the other.
It can instil false ideologies
Young children are just like a sponge. They will learn whatever they will see and hear. So this makes them vulnerable and easy targets to lap up false ideologies. If a teacher believes that violence is the way to solve problems, the students will get moulded to believe that. Their distorted explanations and ideas about certain issues make them orient differently in society.
With time, these traits become more active and can become a menace to society. We can see many examples in our society where a political or religious ideology influences students. Gradually, they start worshipping the wrong idols, and these youth play a major role in breaking the harmony of a healthy society.
It upsets the ideal social order
Our society is not flawless. Ideally, all humans are created equal, and we must respect and treat every human in the same way. However, there is no way to sugarcoat that education disrupts this social order. People who have completed their higher education always treat themselves as superior to others.
Not only that, in many developing countries, students from reputed schools undermine the students who study in a school that is inferior according to the social norms.
It instils a false sense of self-importance
Education also instils a false perception among students about themselves. They start to believe that since they are educated, they must be given more priority than others. They treat themselves as the front runners in every aspect of life.
We can see many instances where people start lacking a basic sense of decency while communicating with someone less educated than them. They become unnecessarily rude, creating a stark difference in our society.
It disguises structural unemployment issues
Disguised unemployment is a major societal concern that often goes undetected because of education. Disguised unemployment is the phenomenon where too many people fill too less jobs. It may not affect the GDP or the aggregate economic output. Because as a layman, you will see that educated people are doing jobs and getting unemployed.
However, that masks the main underlying problems. For example, if a student, who has completed his MBA, has to remain content by doing the job of a teller, or a sales executive, it doesn’t fit their qualifications. They may work somewhere, but their remuneration stays inadequate, and they fail to achieve the social standard they deserve. So, with education, you cannot always recognise the real image of the structural unemployment issues in our society.
It undermines faith and religion
Faith and religion are two extremely delicate and sensitive things. Although it is never good to be blinded by faith and religion, hurting someone else’s sentiments is also not fair. Education makes people too arrogant and insensitive to others’ feelings. This way, they often end up undermining a faith or religion.
As much as we like to call ourselves modern, religion is still a major part of our society. So, hateful comments and undermining someone’s belief can go a long way, especially with social media acting as a catalyst. This can end up in starting communal riots, and in a way, education becomes the reason for the same.
It makes uneducated people feel inferior
People who belong to the lower rung of society mostly stay deprived of education. There are many reasons why they don’t get exposed to education. Whatever the reason, they always think of themselves as stupid and inferior to educated people. The lack of education makes them feel insecure, and they often get duped.
It makes people too snobbish to join the army
As we mentioned earlier, education makes people arrogant and snobby about themselves. This is the reason you can rarely find educated people joining the army. They always prefer the comfort of an air-conditioned office rather than fighting for their country.
It creates financial barriers
Education has become extremely costly nowadays. Most students are forced to drop out of their schooling due to financial constraints. When a student is forced to discontinue their education, that becomes humiliating for them. This makes them more aware of what others will think about him. In a way, they become the subject of pity and ridicule in society.
Summing Up:
Whether education has negative effects on society is very much controversial. Of course, there are several benefits of getting educated. We cannot preach that education is not required because it is certainly the way to know more and progress. However, there are certain ill-effects of it and here discuss ten such factors for you to ponder.
Author Bio:
Michael Anderson has been a professor in a reputed university for a long time. He has recently joined MyAssignmenthelp.live/au/ to offer assignment help to students.
