Education is not about earning degrees but about the values and life lessons a person imbibes in the process of learning, said Lokpal of India Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose here on Monday.
“Education is a holistic process. We learn not to get a job but illuminate our own self with what we have learned,” he said while delivering the 2nd SOA Lecture at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University here.
Education, he said, is about hands on learning, about gaining practical knowledge and it should equip a person to use intelligence and capabilities to face real-life situations, he said.
University Protem Vice-Chancellor presided over the programme.
Stating that perfection or divinity in man is nothing but a result of education, Justice Ghose, quoting Swami Vivekananda, said, “Education is manifestation of perfection in man.”
An educated person should be unselfish which is not the case in present world. “It is actually the parents who infuse selfishness in the children who are directed not to share their study notes with fellow students as they thought the other children might secure better marks than their own. They don’t understand that by sharing, the children would learn more,” he said.
He said education which does not help the common mass to equip themselves for the struggle for life, bring out the strength of character, imbibe a spirit of philanthropy and courage, would not help.
Narrating an anecdote, Justice Ghose said a father brought two fruits for his two children at home giving one to each. The elder child straightaway headed towards his room with the fruit, relished it and then came out. The other one took the fruit, found it good and went straight to his friends in the courtyard and shared it with all of them.
Though the first child was intelligent, his intelligence turned into mere cleverness as he was self-centered. But the second child had grown into a person and had spiritually expanded so as to think of others, care for others and had developed the spirit of service. Between the two children, who was the truly educated one, he asked.
He said a teacher is a social architect who has a great role to play to shape the life of his students.
