“What does education often do? It makes a straight-cut ditch of a free, meandering brook ”- Henry David Thoreau .
Education is the process of gaining knowledge, value, beliefs, skills and habits. It helps in developing perspectives about everything around us. Being educated is not merely obtaining degrees but rather it is the development of inner values, the realisation of our true potentials and working on them.
Role of politics in education
Politics has a vital role in our education. It is important to know about various social organisations, how power is used to rule and regulate the country and how its resources are allocated. Such knowledge is essential, but today politics has crept into education likely owing to many factors including the ownership of colleges and schools by politicians who intend to squeeze out money from common men. It has come to light, politicians in the education business try to influence students with their their parties policies and principles.
Though politics in education by itself can be harmless, the way it is practised has given rise to unintended negative aspects, including tensions and violence among students. The promotion of a truly liberal education is also a casualty. In short, mixing politics in education has so far only degraded the educational system.
Apolitical education
Apolitical education means setting up an education system that is 'anti-political'. It aims to promote unbiased approach in politics and thus to focus on our studies. It can be brought out by setting up an apolitical education panel and apolitical students council. Such a panel may consist of the country’s top intellectual minds, scientific achievers and scholars with an unbiased frame of mind. The government should take the lead in setting up such a body.
Moreover, it is important to set up an apolitical students council as currently most members of a student council are committed political workers who take all important decisions on education according to their political inclination. The role of students unions in colleges and student leaders especially in cultivating a peaceful campus life is also debatable.
In order to establish an apolitical education system, government should bring in allow eminent people to regulate it.
Text book curriculum should be regulated from time to time to make sure the contents hold no political colour in hindsight. It should focus only on improving education that is imparted and by viewing the latter as a holistic approach rather than a limited political approach.
A nation is the amalgamation of different societies. The behaviour and nature of individual societies is vital in building a prosperous nation. So it is important that the society is well educated. The former American president Abraham Lincoln has rightly pointed out “the best way to predict your future is to create it." So to create a prosperous nation we may try developing an apolitical form of education.