Someone once told me that we may complain about the present leaders and leadership, their style and wrong choices. But if we are not careful, though we claim to be more educated, thereby more knowledgeable to make better choices, we might become an advanced version of bad leadership and governance. Why because we know better ways to be crooked and not get caught.
So saying, what about half baked knowledge? It’s worse than no knowledge at all because whatever action is taken from that incomplete knowledge can lead to more harm than good. It could be very dangerous. No education at all or half-baked education shouldn’t be encouraged. When things go wrong, who bears the brunt? When a mishap happens as a result of lack or improper knowledge, who should be blamed?
Imagine a medical school dropout turn surgeon, many lives will be lost at the most or if they are lucky, become handicapped. Shouldn’t such a person look out for other areas or line of work he can gain proper knowledge and function well in? Also, taking into consideration what the impact of his lack of knowledge and irresponsibility will be on others. That’s why balanced and quality education is paramount.
A saying goes thus; ignorance is no defense. If this is true, who then should educate the citizens of a country? Should it be left to the teachers? Or should individuals take it upon themselves to educate themselves?
There are parents and guardians that abandon the responsibility of educating their children to no one. They most times leave the children to the mercy of their teachers. They pay huge sums of monies for school fees, and go about their busy schedules. Their hands are washed off the matter of anything education. Forgetting that education begins at home, the teachers are just contributing to the process. Parents are the children’s first teachers.
On the course of our journey through the years, as an organization, implementing projects, we have seen another set of parents, who take pride in giving birth to so many children they can hardly cater for. For some, they manage to enroll their children in school at 1st term and that’s it. Caring less for the well-being of the child; if the child has school books, if there are fees to pay termly, if they are even sent out of school at any point or if the child goes to school hungry or not. Neglecting the fact that, all these contribute to the academic performance of the children. Who then should shoulder this responsibility for them? On the other hand, there are parents despite their low financial status who struggle to see that their children get the best of education that they never got opportune to have, knowing that this is a platform for a better life for them.
I have also seen individuals blame the country, the government, their parents but themselves for their lack of formal education and worse, for how their life has turned out. On the other hand, I have seen individuals with no motivation from any quarter, no opportunity for a better life who have scaled through above all odds; acquired formal or informal education with little or no help from family, friends or community, and are doing quite well. They chose to take responsibility for their education.
There are individuals also with good opportunity for education in all its forms; formal, informal and non-formal, who still turn out very badly and end up like the category of those who had no such opportunity at all. Education may be staring one in the face, yet the desire or motivation to be a part of it may be lacking even with being exposed to the very best of schools and teachers. You can therefore take a horse to the stream but you cannot force it to drink water.
For many people that have and interact with the young children around them. In trying to help them with their school assignments, some children will protest and refuse to follow your method of answering a question, why because that’s not the method their teacher used or taught them. So, what if the teacher that have so much influence on a child, have nothing to offer that child? Is not knowledgeable to guide the child academically, morally and in other key areas? What hope lies then for the many children that stay or will come under his/her tutelage year after year?
The government is most times blamed for the lack of formal education opportunities of its citizens. This is so because the government is seen as an entity that should provide direction and a better life for her citizens. But who is actually the government? A group of individuals that have been appointed in leadership positions in order to enforce laws and ensure the proper running of the entire country.
So saying, citizens are the parents, they are the teachers, they also make up the government. The education of citizens is therefore everyone’s responsibility. It cannot be one sided; if not the desired excellent result may not be achieved. It is a shared responsibility of individuals under different umbrella names; be it government, parent, teacher. So it’s every individual’s responsibility to desire to acquire knowledge and if in positions to pass it on to others, should do so. And better still if in position to implement laws that will contribute and aid the education of other citizens, do so eagerly.
In conclusion, individuals must desire good education and strive to acquire it. Parents/Guardians must support and encourage it. The teachers must give their best to it; knowing that they play a major role in the kind of people that make up the society. The government must also take the responsibility for the quality education of its citizens in all its forms; because they play a major role in the matter and have the power to make decisions and enforce progress.
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