At the end of the twentieth century, there was an international conference in Canada on education. One of the key themes discussed was: What should be the goals of education in the XXI century?
Why such a query?
Given the arrival and fast growth and development of computers and the Internet, up-to-date information is available on the Net. It is also fast and cheap. You can easily access it on a laptop or in your smart phone. Then why attend a school or college?
What is the relevance of educational institutions? Are they becoming obsolete?
Goal of Education
The conference clarified and re-defined the goals of education.
The goal of education is no longer to create the LEARNED person, but to CREATE THE LIFE-LONG LEARNER.
What does this mean?
Today, no one knows where the jobs will be thirty or fifty years from now, nor what qualifications will be needed for it.
A college will not be able to tell its students: We shall provide you a degree, and with that you will be able to get life-long employment.
No, that world is largely gone.
We have moved from the Industrial Age to the Information Technology Age. Many of us still live mentally in the Industrial Age.
Fr Joe Mannath SDB
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