Western philosophers and researchers have been preoccupied with the issue of the purpose of education since ancient times to the modern time. They developed many theories throughout different phases. However, almost all of them have one thing in common, that is, the purpose of education is to produce a good individual or a good citizen. In order to achieve this a holistic development of a child is required rather than partial development.
This means a number of values and skills should be installed in pupils alongside their academic activities.
From another point of view, the goal of education is to create a complete man and therefore it emphasizes comprehensive development. For instance, through partial or only academic development an individual can be a highly skilled professional to perform a particular job.
He can be a good physician, engineer, pilot, high military officer, lawyer and so on.
But at the same time he is less civilized, unjust, and ill-mannered or extremely individualistic and selfish, and hardly Careful about the social and other responsibilities. Therefore, it can be argued that those who specialize in different disciplines and fields of knowledge are highly educated, but not all of them are civilized in real meaning.
On the other hand, the person who is mindful about his duty to family, neighbours and society at the same time has basic knowledge in any particular field to have decent livelihood is considered as civilized and a good person despite lacking in specialization and adequate education in a given field. And this kind of civilized and good person is not necessarily considered as a complete man.
Indeed to be a complete man, one should acquire vast knowledge provided that his acquired knowledge manifests in his activities in all aspects of life.
Education, from this respect, aims at an integrated intellectual development that helps students consider education not only as a tool for merely achieving material gains, rather a tool for their comprehensive development to lead a decent life, at the same time they will constantly try to attain which is beneficial for them, for their family and society as well as for the entire humanity at large.
And that can only be achieved through a holistic development of a child rather than merely academic attainment. So the aim of education and the holistic process should be clear to all stakeholders concerned.
If we do not put emphasis on holistic development, the negative results are inevitable. The current social and moral degradation is the consequence of this inconsistency. There are numerous examples of that. One glaring example is the increase of old parents in old houses in recent times which perhaps led the Court to consider. Whenever there is any inconsistency either in realizing the aim of education or passing a legislation ensuring proper care for old parents.
The excessive stress of parents on academic achievement of a child is a pressing concern in recent times. They make tremendous efforts to ensure a good academic result, but hardly do anything to ensure their good character, morality and manners.
As a result, the teenagers are engulfed by numerous evil practices and on top of that is a crucial phenomenon.
Therefore, it is high time to underscore the importance of a comprehensive development of a child in various areas including intellectual, physical, social, moral and spiritual. This is, however, a daunting task and concerted efforts are required from all dimensions of policy makers, educational institutes, and parents. It is also of paramount importance that the unhealthy academic competition should be minimized and many co-curricular activities such as sports, literary clubs, and voluntary works should be popularized not only inside the school premises but also across the world at large.
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©chrysanthemum
