“Developing a global partnership for development”
Education is knowledge. Education is enlightenment. Education is power. Education is a weapon. Education is consistency. Education is a lifelong process. Education is empowerment. Education is freedom. Education is the truth. Education is candor. Education is improvement. Education is growth. It is a matter of life and death. It is what defines you; your present, your future, your success, failures, everything. Education is life itself.
In today’s world, hardly any part remains oblivious to the indispensable obligation of education. Everyone is on the same page in pursuing the agenda of right to education for all. However, it is the time for us to take a step ahead, to move further. It is time now to take all the challenges head on. And one of the biggest problems anywhere in the world is “inequality”. Yes! The inequitable, imbalanced, disproportionate and variable education system worldwide is the reason why sociologists see society as a stratification system that is based on a hierarchy of power, privilege and prestige which leads to social inequality. Social inequality is typically tied to race, gender, and class, with whites, males, those with higher education levels, and those with higher income levels sitting at the top of the hierarchy.
There are as many education systems in the world as there are number of countries. Each country has its own system. Fair enough. But are all the systems providing similar standard of quality education to its students preparing them for the ever increasing demands of the world economy and industries? The answer is simply perplexing. No? Yes? American High School? British Advanced Levels? Pakistani Matriculation System? Nigerian System?
Citizens of America repudiate British Education System, while Asians have predilection for Singapore Advanced Level exams. Here in Pakistan, people think that following traditional system is nadir and adopting Advanced level system is the apex of humanity. Confusion again!
In this era of globalization, everyone wants to excel. Whatever you’re doing, you will always find someone who is better than you. The base of excellence is set up by quality education and suitable environment for learning. Hence, there needs to be an equal education system worldwide that remains sempiternal. For developing a global partnership for development, identical standards of education should be maintained worldwide.
World education synergy is extremely important if we want to develop a global partnership for development. Standardized method of learning, nurturing and developing the sense of acquisition of knowledge is the key to synergy in world education. Perusal of the idea shows that there are numerous advantages of developing a system that removes concept of social inequality.
To begin with, there would be equal chances of exceling in life for everyone, regardless of their country and the social and economic difficulties they may face. Similar quality of education would pave way for identical coursework, examinations and aptitude or intelligence tests, thereby increasing the chance to gain better education, better jobs, and better life. A person from Pakistan or Bangladesh willing to work in UK or USA would no longer have to go through the myriad and excruciating entry tests. Instead, the person would solely be judged upon the fact that how well he or she performed in high school. An Australian student and an African student would be on par with each other and no one would have upper hand over the other\
Furthermore, synergy in world education would revolutionize the industrial and tertiary sectors. More work forces would mean quality and quantity of resources available would be maximized to their potential and the tertiary sector would have efficient workers too, be it doctors, pilots or engineers. A country would no longer “miss” erudite scholars and workers and hence the need of acquiring services from other countries would be eliminated. Competing with global standards of education, there would be penchant for well-rounded education. This would produce passionate and hardworking people willing to contribute towards their society. It would indeed transform education. Metamorphosis!
The true meaning of education is to learn,create and lead. Unfortunately, this spirit behind education is somehow lost. Current education systems of many countries, including Pakistan is simply producing people suitable for particular jobs. The system is producing followers, not leaders. Innovation and creativity overshadowed by marks and grades. Redefining education through coordination would hopefully improve this situation.
Ever since the evolution of man-kind, there has always existed this peculiar rage & urgency in our race to prove one’s dominancy upon the other. We all know that in ancient gladiator times, power was determined by the size of the army and their ability to win wars, but working together for education system would eradicate the historical and traditional abhorrence of certain countries towards each other since it would serve as a unifying force for the whole world. Working together in harmony, and that too for a noble cause of enlightenment through education is an act of global friendship and unity which would bring everyone under one common aim.
It should be noted that there is a difference between standardized testing and standardized education. Standardized education means everyone receives the same quality of education regardless of their background or geographical location, while standardized testing is a rather disputed topic. While standardized and coordinated method of education is supported worldwide, standardized testing is condemned by many. It is argued that standardized testing kills creativity and dynamic environment of schooling and tests are no way to ensure that the overall “education” is of similar standard.
In past, there have been a number of attempts towards this but no attempt has turned out to be a huge success. Many conferences, meeting, youth summits and debates have world education synergy as their focal point, but there is still not a clear solution. Although there is not a single panacea for this, but countries need to be unified in order to reach a conclusion. Prevailing issues need to be sorted out between countries, or alternatively, existing problems and prejudices should be put aside to address this situation. Only then we could develop a global partnership for development through education.
By Saad Ali Baloch
Pakistan
Education is knowledge. Education is enlightenment. Education is power. Education is a weapon. Education is consistency. Education is a lifelong process. Education is empowerment. Education is freedom. Education is the truth. Education is candor. Education is improvement. Education is growth. It is a matter of life and death. It is what defines you; your present, your future, your success, failures, everything. Education is life itself.
In today’s world, hardly any part remains oblivious to the indispensable obligation of education. Everyone is on the same page in pursuing the agenda of right to education for all. However, it is the time for us to take a step ahead, to move further. It is time now to take all the challenges head on. And one of the biggest problems anywhere in the world is “inequality”. Yes! The inequitable, imbalanced, disproportionate and variable education system worldwide is the reason why sociologists see society as a stratification system that is based on a hierarchy of power, privilege and prestige which leads to social inequality. Social inequality is typically tied to race, gender, and class, with whites, males, those with higher education levels, and those with higher income levels sitting at the top of the hierarchy.
There are as many education systems in the world as there are number of countries. Each country has its own system. Fair enough. But are all the systems providing similar standard of quality education to its students preparing them for the ever increasing demands of the world economy and industries? The answer is simply perplexing. No? Yes? American High School? British Advanced Levels? Pakistani Matriculation System? Nigerian System?
Citizens of America repudiate British Education System, while Asians have predilection for Singapore Advanced Level exams. Here in Pakistan, people think that following traditional system is nadir and adopting Advanced level system is the apex of humanity. Confusion again!
In this era of globalization, everyone wants to excel. Whatever you’re doing, you will always find someone who is better than you. The base of excellence is set up by quality education and suitable environment for learning. Hence, there needs to be an equal education system worldwide that remains sempiternal. For developing a global partnership for development, identical standards of education should be maintained worldwide.
World education synergy is extremely important if we want to develop a global partnership for development. Standardized method of learning, nurturing and developing the sense of acquisition of knowledge is the key to synergy in world education. Perusal of the idea shows that there are numerous advantages of developing a system that removes concept of social inequality.
To begin with, there would be equal chances of exceling in life for everyone, regardless of their country and the social and economic difficulties they may face. Similar quality of education would pave way for identical coursework, examinations and aptitude or intelligence tests, thereby increasing the chance to gain better education, better jobs, and better life. A person from Pakistan or Bangladesh willing to work in UK or USA would no longer have to go through the myriad and excruciating entry tests. Instead, the person would solely be judged upon the fact that how well he or she performed in high school. An Australian student and an African student would be on par with each other and no one would have upper hand over the other\
Furthermore, synergy in world education would revolutionize the industrial and tertiary sectors. More work forces would mean quality and quantity of resources available would be maximized to their potential and the tertiary sector would have efficient workers too, be it doctors, pilots or engineers. A country would no longer “miss” erudite scholars and workers and hence the need of acquiring services from other countries would be eliminated. Competing with global standards of education, there would be penchant for well-rounded education. This would produce passionate and hardworking people willing to contribute towards their society. It would indeed transform education. Metamorphosis!
The true meaning of education is to learn,create and lead. Unfortunately, this spirit behind education is somehow lost. Current education systems of many countries, including Pakistan is simply producing people suitable for particular jobs. The system is producing followers, not leaders. Innovation and creativity overshadowed by marks and grades. Redefining education through coordination would hopefully improve this situation.
Ever since the evolution of man-kind, there has always existed this peculiar rage & urgency in our race to prove one’s dominancy upon the other. We all know that in ancient gladiator times, power was determined by the size of the army and their ability to win wars, but working together for education system would eradicate the historical and traditional abhorrence of certain countries towards each other since it would serve as a unifying force for the whole world. Working together in harmony, and that too for a noble cause of enlightenment through education is an act of global friendship and unity which would bring everyone under one common aim.
It should be noted that there is a difference between standardized testing and standardized education. Standardized education means everyone receives the same quality of education regardless of their background or geographical location, while standardized testing is a rather disputed topic. While standardized and coordinated method of education is supported worldwide, standardized testing is condemned by many. It is argued that standardized testing kills creativity and dynamic environment of schooling and tests are no way to ensure that the overall “education” is of similar standard.
In past, there have been a number of attempts towards this but no attempt has turned out to be a huge success. Many conferences, meeting, youth summits and debates have world education synergy as their focal point, but there is still not a clear solution. Although there is not a single panacea for this, but countries need to be unified in order to reach a conclusion. Prevailing issues need to be sorted out between countries, or alternatively, existing problems and prejudices should be put aside to address this situation. Only then we could develop a global partnership for development through education.
By Saad Ali Baloch
Pakistan
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