Monday Musing

[ Prem Chetry ]

Education is a medium; its purpose is to be discovered by oneself. To begin with a prediction, what appears to be basic education today will become a prerequisite for pre-schooling tomorrow.

Undoubtedly, the ambition of one's life is as uncertain as the purpose of education today. The age of colonialism led to industrialisation, which created the need for systems that could ensure management and accountability as the world entered the age of globalisation.

As human society progressed, the agrarian society was the only and foremost organised sector, and it was of a purely subsistence nature. The age of colonialism resulted in the emergence of industrialisation. This created an urgent need for skilled professionals to maintain management, marketing, accounts and records, and to serve other sectors such as health, law, justice, administration, management, and many more. This development, perhaps, finally led to the emergence of the education system.

However, within five decades, the education system across the globe could not remain static if it was to secure careers with a future financial cushion and a settled life. It had to adapt and branch out into various areas of subject expertise - from basic education to specialised professionalism - in order to create diverse career opportunities and a more secure society.

Ironically, what appeared to be basic education a few decades ago was elementary schooling. Today, basic education seems to mean either undergraduate or graduate-level education. The fear is that by the time of Gen Alpha, Gen Beta, Gen Gamma and Gen Delta, what is now considered professional - medicine, engineering, law, technology, finance, business administration, and so on - will be categorised as basic education then.

Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, though born in the digital age, has been privileged with many amenities. Yet maintaining these amenities in the future is likely to be much tougher. There is no optimum balance between employment opportunities and the existing working population. Secondly, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has replaced many hands slowly, while at the same time proving a boon for only a few. And what next is unprecedented.

Just a decade or two ago, being 'computer literate' was enough to secure a job, in addition to the required qualifications. Today, by contrast, even being well-versed in computer technologies no longer guarantees job security.

Now, the most important role lies in the hands of educationists and central planning agencies. The economic cycle moves from boom to recession, recovery, and back to boom. Unfortunately, many nations have not even attained a boom yet; their economies are crumbling day by day, triggering social insecurity even over a loaf of bread - a situation that is quite chaotic.

Admittedly, there is a gap between educators and the younger generation. An invisible challenge exists. Although its impacts are already being experienced in society, they are unavoidably growing worse. At present, both Gen Z and Gen Alpha are being educated in schools, colleges and universities. Beyond simply delivering the course curriculum, a conflict arises: educators' methods and approaches must be reorganised according to a futuristic outlook.

Institutions should not only be designed to transform the human population into a skilled workforce; they should also prepare each new generation to adapt to a futuristic environment - socially, economically, emotionally, culturally and politically.

If basic education continues to evolve with every new generation, then the question is not merely about degrees. It is about whether the education system can anticipate what society, technology and the economy will demand tomorrow. What is considered a professional qualification today may become the basic requirement of tomorrow. Education must therefore prepare every successive generation not merely to earn a living, but to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world.