Is Education for Exploration or Exploitation?

New Delhi [India], November 26: In today’s world, education seems to focus more on preparing us for well-paying jobs than on helping us grow as complete human being. While professional success is important, somewhere along the way, we may be missing out on the right understanding and balance needed for a truly fulfilling life. Instead of building inner harmony, many people are now drawn toward flashy excitement and momentary highs.

Take, for example, our relationship with nature. Cleanliness drives have become popular, but how often do we think or talk about its root cause. It’s easy to showcase the act, but real responsibility lies in supporting nature beyond just one event.

Education is often linked to happiness—but if that’s true, why does India, known for producing one of the highest numbers of engineering and PhD graduates, rank so low on the happiness index? This gap suggests that something is missing in how we define education today. Shouldn’t education be about creating good human beings first?

Moreover, people today seem to keep adding to their list of desires, constantly running after the next goal, thinking it will bring satisfaction. In reality, inner peace comes from slowing down and finding harmony within. And when it comes to respect, we often associate it with material wealth or success, but true respect has always come from one’s own values, not by possessions or positions. Today, our focus is often on accumulating wealth and possessions, yet few stop to question the true value of what we acquire. Take gold, for example—a metal that, while just a commodity, has become a symbol of happiness and success. But does gold, or any material possession, truly bring us lasting Happiness? In our pursuit of wealth, we lose sight of the fact that true respect and happiness come from within, not from the external symbols we amass.

Our relationship with nature reveals a similar pattern of excess. We are eager to show our environmental consciousness through actions like tree-planting drives, but often, the focus is on the documentation of these actions rather than on sustaining and nurturing the trees we plant. This trend highlights a growing disconnect—we celebrate the act but overlook the true, ongoing responsibility to nature. As we continue to exploit natural resources to meet our ever-growing demands, we are not only harming the environment but are also creating a lasting impact on future generations.

Materialism also manifests in daily life, where accumulating more than we need has become the norm. Consider that the average woman in India may own over 150 sarees, while in other parts of the world, such as Somalia, women lack access to even basic clothing. This disparity reflects a lack of right understanding—if we viewed everyone in this world with relationship as a part of our extended family, would we accumulate so much? Our consumption patterns often create a demand that drives shortages and inequity elsewhere, deepening the divide between those who have plenty and those who have little.

Similarly, food waste is a pressing global issue. According to the Global Food Waste Index, approximately one-third of all food produced goes to waste, while millions around the world struggle with hunger. India, too, contributes significantly to this wastage, despite widespread poverty that leaves many without basic sustenance. The global poverty index further underscores this crisis, highlighting the urgent need for a shift in mindset—one that encourages mindful consumption and prioritizes reducing waste. If we, as a society, truly understood and respected the value of food, we could play a role in reducing this waste and alleviating hunger.

The core issue lies in our education system’s emphasis on success, wealth, and status over values, relationship, understanding etc. Imagine if our educational institutions prioritized creating balanced, compassionate individuals who are attuned to both their own needs and those of the larger world. This is where Value Education comes into play—encouraging a mindset that looks beyond personal gain and develop a sense of shared humanity.

As we rethink the purpose of education, it becomes essential to nurture a culture that values simplicity, empathy, and responsibility towards and oneself and for others. Value Education strives to redirect our focus from mere achievements to nurturing individuals who contribute to society in meaningful ways. In a world where endless accumulation and competition have become the norm, it is only through a deeper understanding and alignment with human values that we can achieve lasting happiness, balance, and harmony for ourselves and for future generations.

In today’s education system, it’s worth asking what we truly consider as development. Is it just about economic growth and material success, or should it also include a sense of inner happiness and strong, positive relationships with others? If material wealth alone were the key to happiness, then as our incomes rise, so should our happiness levels. Yet, the reality is often different, and it seems that accumulating things might not bring the fulfillment we expect.

Our society often finds itself caught between what we genuinely need and what we desire beyond that. We set goals for sustainable living and responsible consumption, guided by an understanding of our true needs. But at the same time, there’s a tendency to want more and more, simply because there’s no clear limit to our desires. This endless drive for accumulation often leads us away from sustainability, creating a culture where “enough” never seems to be enough.

We also live in a world that’s highly competitive, where competing can be motivating but can also make us feel isolated. Imagine if education encouraged more collaboration and working together instead of constant rivalry. It might bring us closer, reducing some of the divides we see in society. And even as education reaches more people, certain issues continue to persist. It raises the question: Is education today truly about understanding ourselves, or is it mostly about external success and recognition?

This idea of education is one that values connection and working together rather than focusing on competition. Picture a society where relationships are more important than profits, where our choices are driven by a genuine concern for everyone’s well-being rather than just short-term gains. It makes us wonder—are we chasing things that give us a brief thrill, or are we working toward something that lasts and truly makes us whole? Real, lasting fulfillment might only come when we look at the world with a spirit of shared humanity and respect for each other

Let’s Explore more towards this Holistic development rather Exploiting each other.

About the author:

Dr. P. Supraja is the Universal Human Values (UHV) – University Coordinator at SRM Institute of Science and Technology and is the Associate Professor at the Department of Networking and Communications, SRMIST. To know more about the campus life at SRMIST visit https://www.srmist.edu.in/

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