I really like the completely different way of defining the most basic term, Education, in such a simplistic way. In true sense, teaching is not something which is being taught only in modern temples. This is in fact something which every individual learn from the environment where he/she lives or grows - every single thing. We just need to open our eyes and look around the ways things are happening. There are so many things which an individual learns at every single point right from the beginning of the life. Education is something which prepares us to make ourselves independent in the complex world which is surrounded by different people. Job is just a part of life which has a different work culture and process, which enables us to earn, succeed, and to improve our well-beings and quality of life.

Brauchen Sie ein Business-Darlehen? Brauchen Sie einen persönlichen Kredit? Brauchen Sie eine Hypothek? Sie müssen landwirtschaftlichen Kredit machen? Der jährliche Zinssatz beträgt 3%. E-Mail: adamsberryloanlender@gmail.com Hier ist das Antragsformular für das Darlehen. Füllen Sie es ordnungsgemäß und senden Sie es an uns. 1. Ihre vollständigen Namen 2. Ihre aktuelle Heimatadresse 3. Ihr Land 4. Ihre Stadt 5. Nummerieren Sie Ihr Handy 6. Ihr Alter Ein Mann oder eine Frau 8. Familienstand 9. Ihre rofessiya 10. Ihr monatliches Einkommen 11. Darlehensbetrag erforderlich als 12. Darlehen Zweck 14. Laufzeit des Darlehens Sobald wir diese Details von Ihnen erhalten, werden wir den Prozess des Darlehens sofort beginnen. E-MAIL: Brauchen Sie ein Business-Darlehen? Brauchen Sie einen persönlichen Kredit? Brauchen Sie eine Hypothek? Sie müssen landwirtschaftlichen Kredit machen? Der jährliche Zinssatz beträgt 3%. E-Mail: adamsberryloanlender@gmail.com Hier ist das Antragsformular für das Darlehen. Füllen Sie es ordnungsgemäß und senden Sie es an uns. 1. Ihre vollständigen Namen 2. Ihre aktuelle Heimatadresse 3. Ihr Land 4. Ihre Stadt 5. Nummerieren Sie Ihr Handy 6. Ihr Alter 7. Ein Mann oder eine Frau 8. Familienstand 9. Ihre rofessiya 10. Ihr monatliches Einkommen 11. Darlehensbetrag erforderlich als 12. Darlehen Zweck 14. Laufzeit des Darlehens Sobald wir diese Details von Ihnen erhalten, werden wir den Prozess des Darlehens sofort beginnen. E-MAIL: adamsberryloanlender@gmail.com

Nice thought. It's always been a confusion whether education is a tool for searching best fit job according to qualification or making life meaningful. Education plays a crucial role in today's environment. Education updates a person with knowledge. Knowledge can be applied in a job / a business / Life. It all depends on the person what he aims while persuing the education. In today's era, I have experienced that when a person becomes professionally qualified, feelings are created that he/she should prefer job (no investment - no tension) and not business. It has become a mindset in smaller towns that you are educated so now move to cities and set your life. However after spending certain number of years a person understand that life of town and staying with family was better. This education and society has shifted him/her towards lonely life. Thereafter it becomes a tough decision to choose life or job. Many times people think that what society will think if I leave this job and go back and start a new life. thinking that they don't take decisions. They curse the education and feel why did I study. To summarize, learning is important in living life and it should not become barrier of life. Open your mind, take risks and Enjoy the Life.

Ma’am, Education prepares you for life or a Job is a strong statement and you have nicely covered the real meaning of education from top to bottom… many parents and teachers may not have visualized the essence, eventually every parent wants to groom theirs kids so by the age of 3-4 years we push them to school to begin their journey on the learning path, and when they reach 8th or 9th grade they decide which profession to choose but at times parents put pressure and they decide for them but it should be the other way, parents and teachers should guide them but not force to do something which are not interested. Touching to your points again, our educational system need to revisit and are we really equipping the student to be employable and how the knowledge is transferred to gain the wisdom for life!

I think it is very difficult to answer this question. Education is not the one which you can grab from the curriculum that stipulated in our schools or colleges. Education is that which enlightens one’s creativity. Enhances individual’s courage to face difficult tasks. Education is the one which can learned not by going through many books but by going through one’s life. It is not package but it’s a process. Education will help to know how much you do not know. It will help to understand the world around you. It’s a differentiator and a weapon not to grow in the life but to go through the life. It’s not taught only in the schools/colleges but it can be learned by observing the surroundings. Our Indian ancestral education system is the best example of how to perceive the education not getting just graduated. The Gurukulas used teach with the help of nature. Current modern education system compels individuals to prepare for a better job than better life. This is because majority of the parents right from childhood instill the goal chasing attitude in the minds of their children. To sum it up, It is better to chase excellence rather than chasing the success.

Many of us believe that education is meant for getting good job – good life partner. Get through the exams score and get high marks. But education is much beyond. It empowers people to develop personally and become politically and economically active. Education empowers, and education promotes greater participation. Education does not mean only formal studies. We can learn a lot of things by observing people around us. For example: A mother/wife in a family well maintains her kitchen. A place for everything and everything in its place. The same 5S funda Japanese uses for the manufacturing shop floor. Household wives gets monthly cash from husband to manage the households. She manages for the entire month by maintaining the cash inflows and outflows. We learn some finance from them. My servant in my house is so self disciplined about timings. He wakes up at 6 am in the morning everyday and does the household works. He encourages me. My child is 2 years old. He is in a learning phase of his life. He is trying to speak different things. He sometimes is so focused on things that despite of denial and resistance he never gives up and keeps trying. He teaches me to never give up things so easily. So education is for life and not only for job! It helps you to gain knowledge and be a better leader in your life. Great leaders grow by continuously learning ! We stop growing if we stop learning !

Beautifully written article Ma'am. We all, as kids or parents believe that education is purely, what we learn in our schools or colleges. But as you rightly said, the source of education is much wider and simpler. We educate ourselves and learn, every moment of our life, be it writing a cheque, grocery shopping, playing a sport, watching TV, or merely by observing others etc. There have been great leaders, who didn't go to any school or college. If education was restricted to only what is being taught in educational institutions, we would all, have been, of a similar school of thought. We are known as "individuals", because we are different from each other, both in our appearance as well thinking. We all have learnt through our individual experiences and journey, The learning which we get from academic education can help us in getting a good Job, as it is considered as a criteria for comparing the talent, but it need not give us a meaningful life.

Well written Ma'am- A complex journey in years of learning not only includes the paper-based concepts but real life encounters that is what summarizes education. I believe education provides an additional set of sharper tools in one's survival kit in life, the way one understand and implement it is a personal choice. We assume that goal of good education is better life through a better job (read - better paying) whereas it serves a much deeper purpose. Even the experience of going through education system trains one the basic sets of social and managerial skills like behaving and interacting in a social circle, discipline, teamwork, focus on performing better with constant evaluation, managing deadlines for schedule. A job is merely an existence strategy for the future where we utilize a special set (weapon of choice) from education tool set. Yes as we move ahead in age bracket education assumes the more important role and becomes a partner in life to get us through thick and thin with the rational set of mind using the same basic set of tools of foundation phase.

Its very nicely summarised here that education is not only about book reading and taking classes in a classroom. In fact it has a very broad meaning, education is something which you get every day from any one at any place. Every moment in life is teaching us something, every time we meet some one new we learn different perspective. Formal education through classrooms makes us more formal and prepare us for future. Whereas informal education prepares us for life. Everything a child learn from parents, sister, brother, friends may not help him for the job but will definitely help him in dealing with life. Informal education gives us the perspective about life, how we want to shape up as a person, how to see the life, how to see others etc.. Two people passed out from same school and college and may be worked in a same company may not have same perspective about life. Their upbringings may be different which can make them all together different human being, one can be philanthropist and other can be complete opposite.

Very Good Article M'am. In fact Everyday is a learning. We learn something new everyday. It is a continuous process. The aim of education in my opinion is to to make you prepare for your life. The Job keeps changing with times. Education should drive us in adapting to change and to live. Education is a tool complement your thinking. Education should help oneself to be a better person than he was yesterday,

In my engineering college we had a lecturer Mr Saini. He was admired by almost all the student, not because he had any good command the subject he taught, in fact i even dont clearly remember which subject he used to teach. He was admired because he taught us skills and techniques to prepare us for the practical life not just of exams or job. He always said "the concepts of engineering we are studying will never be used in actual job, all we are being trained, is to think logically". I made little sense back then but as we started with our careers it started becoming more and more clear. And now after almost a decade latter his words still stand well apt of any type of education. Dr. Jayakumar, Madam first of all thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree fullest with your definition of education for elders but for young student would like to add one thing, education for them is to train their brains for future life not specify to subjects but to give them holistic view of life ahead.

Education , according to me is not for getting a job or to get answers for every difficult situation but to prepare us completely for life. It teaches us the importance of people, relationship & how importance is our contribution to the society.Learning is continuous and can be from anyone we meet. Education teaches us to be critical thinkers which is required in every point of life. It prepares us for real life competition, to face rejection, failure and confusion. In total, education teaches us to adapt to various circumstances In order to be successful in life.

Very right pointed out madam. EDUCATION is one of the very frequently misinterpreted and misused words that we come across. The blog clearly communicates that even a street hawker like a panwala or a vadapav wala is definitely educated, though not literate. And most of the times in our literal or verbal communication, we tend to use the word EDUCATION while we actually mean LITERACY. EDUCATION also comes from the learning of life that we acquire as we grow in life, as we learn how to deal with life and its ups and downs. The education that we get “sitting on the floor from our grandparents”, as pointed out in the blog, readies us for the challenges in life and teaches us to learn from our lives, how to live our lives.

This question was there in my mind too, Mam. Definition of education mentioned is very practical. What we learn in schools and colleges is only a part of education. Small things we learn from our parents, grandparents and shopkeepers are also very important part. Nobody taught Eklayva how to shoot bow and arrow. But due to his determination and hard work, he became better than Arjuna. It’s all depending on how you perceive things around you and what you learn from it. We get educated from vadapav walla and panwallah concepts like marketing and costing. Education is what we aspire for and what we want to become. Education is the means by which you can learn to live life to the fullest with your dream. This education can come from anywhere, but you should be prepared to embrace it just like Eklayva. Education is like your friend who can be your teacher, companion and friend who will show and walk the path with you always. This friend will not only help you in getting a job but also guide you to live a prosperous and happy life.

Thank you very much for sharing this thought on which there is already lot of debate. We needs to be taught to teach, we needs to know how to fish to fish. In the same way we should know the know how or essential learnings that can be applied successfully in our real life situation to solve various problems. So our learning necessity comes first among all needs before entering to the schools or different institutions of education. Now come to the age level and class. At the end of graduation most of the students are very much eager to get a job just after .Why I am telling this because education in some cases today is a costly affair. Especially for some professional courses and technical courses. Students may bounds to take loan of large amount to accomplish these courses and at the end of course ultimately all course have become job dependent no job no student in case any particular stream is found that the possibility of getting job is nil then I can say none will be interested in that course. But exceptional guys who are not bound by financial burdens of loans and other bindings from family enjoy education as learnings and take it as their part and parcel of life. But they are very few in numbers just like that fellow Ranchor das in 3 idiots movie directed by famous Bollywood actor Amir khan. So education in our present system prepares us for Job first. Students are being very much interested in those courses or where a chance of getting high paid Job is maximum .But somehow it doesn’t mean when you have got a high paid Job or you have established yourself as a successful businessman you have got all in life. All materials things cannot give you the happiness as demanded by you or you can get peace of mind as required

An excellent read on what differentiates literacy and education. Literacy is something that acts as a mode of living ones life, but Education is something that helps your journey to be learning, interesting, joyful, adventurous and meaningful. Reading the blog triggered the idea of sharing it at school level for grade 8,9,10, simply to provide another lens to look at life and around. Also to be able to interpret life in relation to the literacy. So as to make children accept joyfully the learning imparted in school. The connect of examples with the subjects was not only interesting but a learning and sweet peek into the so called ordinary and illiterate lives. The write up affirms that we get educated at home and it is home environment and our surrounding that inculcates values, grooming, logic and understanding of life, though they may be right or wrong. The understanding reflects through the behaviour and the reasoning of an individual which then shapes or directs his/her journey. The blog also beautifully describes two major junctions of life - the youth and the elderly phase. It clearly indicates that youth is the time for actions and they better be right for the elderly companion can then be those beautiful memories that have once again allowed us to love ourselves and be loved by others. Nevertheless, life has to go on and every stage is educating us, making us believe that there are many more things to do in life and learn from. For there is lots to learn till the end of our life.

Education: - Must make a person stand up for herself / himself; - It should teach her / him how to survive in the world and face circumstances no matter what they are; - It should make one a fighter. The above reminds me of a Quote from Dr. Victor Frankl's Book - Man's Search for Meaning" wherein he says - "He who has found the "Why" of living can face any "How". Education should teach one the "Why" of living. Educating oneself or learning is a never ending process. Right from one's birth to death, one learns. And I strongly feel one should continue to learn. There is no age for learning I think and feel. For e.g. I am doing the PGPDM program at the age of 50. It is such an eye opener for me to learn about the various aspects of the social development sector. In fact, when I moved out of the so called Corporate Rat Race, I was looking out for opportunities to give back to the society in the form of Education, Learning & Development. I changed my profession from being a CA to a full time Soft Skills Trainer. I was also looking out for opportunities to pass on my knowledge to the world at large. And then PGPDM happened and I have found a new "Meaning", the "Why" of my life. I strongly believe that "The Will of the Divine does not take you where the Grace of the Divine cannot Protect you". And with PGPDM happening to me, I am getting more and more convinced about the same. All I can say is - "A learning that doesn't produce a change is like a parachute that doesn't ope in case of a need". I am happy that the change is happening within me through education.

Thank you ma’am for such a wonderful take on the role of education. I believe the purpose of education is to guide us as a companion throughout our lives. To limit it to a stepping stone for getting a job, higher pay package is to outright devalue it. The beauty of education lies in the fact that there is no prescribed way in which we need to learn. We can learn something from anyone at any time be it the daily wage worker, or a professor in an esteemed B-School. All we need is an open mind. At the same time, we should be mindful of the fact that not every learning is important to us and not to take words/ learnings as set in stone. The article beautifully encompasses the many forms where we can get education, be it the challenges we face, what inspires us to fight for things we love, the emotions we feel, all these contribute to our learning one way or another. Only learning is not enough, we need to focus on the details as well. Focusing on the details will help us extract more value from what we have. Do we truly value education at all times? The answer is no. We value is when we need it and take it for granted otherwise. Even though we treat it as such, it never leaves our side and takes on different roles in our life. From a lover, to a companion, always ready to be called at a moment’s notice to guide us.

Very thought provoking topic.The answer to this topic is very subjective and depends on our perceptions about education and some pre conceived notions about education that has been established from the time we entered kindergarten till date. I always had the opinion for a long time that education means grades and grades means jobs and I am sure many others will agree with my opinion to a great extent. But today I believe that education should prepare us both for job and for life. Reason being education without job is like education for the sake of interest in a particular area or for pure fun. However the fact of the matter is that, the fact that an employee has a degree does not certify that they are right fir for the job/task. Learning in a college or university is not a mirror image of how someone would deliver in a real work scenario. It is an irony that today also(especially for people in villages and small towns) there are not many avenues for school leavers to try their chosen career path before enrolling for a university and a degree subject. Consequently the education which they receive prepare them for a job but not to face eventualities in the journey of life ahead. I feel it’s a very serious problem. With technology developing at break neck speed, very few people leaving education will be suitably qualified for the jobs which will exist. So in such a scenario education has the dual responsibility to prepare students for job as well as life. Life skills such as Behaviour Management, Relationship Management, Taming anger, Effective Decision Making and having an Assertive Personality will go a long way in instilling confidence of students and give them the ability to face untoward challenges at ease

Aligned with the element as stated above “Education is in the commonplace”, I think that the knowledge one acquires from the temples of education is not ample enough to call one as “Educated”. A person has to apply that knowledge further and has to come up with a right blend of education and culture/social maturity to be called as an educated citizen. And this cultural/societal maturity is what one cultivates from commonplace. The substance here revolves around the motive of Education in our system. Historically, the purpose of education has evolved as and when, the way, society needed it. It has progressed from training youth in spiritual principles, to preparing them to live in social equivalence and developing them for the industrialized century workplace. Today, we are tested to compete and prepare ourselves for imminent race in the world that itself is transforming swiftly. It all sounds good, then why do we worry? And so what is matter of concern? In my opinion, the question underlying is that are we creating emotionally healthy adults who can participate in meaningful associations? The solution doesn’t lie with the education temples or with the big schools we attend; instead it equally stick to us as a responsibility to develop ourselves as socially sensitive characters while being sound intellectuals. The process of education does not stop at graduation or post-graduation neither it qualifies with the number of degrees in your pool. Furthermore, the world is not interested in how well qualified you are, instead how capable you can be. Education widens our understanding of administrative tasks, which can be accomplished by one if appropriately trained as illustrated above in the case of “Vadapavwala” and “Panwala”. But social development requires creative thinking rather than textbook conventions. A man can be dangerous even if one has knowledge, but with no moralities. Intelligence is not enough, rather intelligence supported with character - should be the true image of education. Life does not rest at placements; in fact, it crafts several unexpected or unlikely situations, which one can call as milestones or challenges depending upon what one’s perspective of learning from education temples are. If you believe in the point that school may end, but education doesn't; better let education engross you for the rest of your life.

Ma’am, thank you for taking a different narrative on the subject of education. It was indeed a very refreshing read which makes us re-think the purpose of education in our lives. Like many others, I too have dwelled on the importance of formal education and the role it plays in shaping our lives. True, better formal education generally helps us to make our lives better, which is the reason why we can find all the ‘temples’ of education filled with aspirants whose main objective seem to be getting the highest grades and move on to the next education level and make the same effort again. But this does take a toll on our already burdened lives. The education helps you to land a job with all our material aspirations fulfilled. But what today’s education lacks is in its ability to create free thinkers. Increasing crowds of graduates are being manufactured every year with limited skills and even limited ability and aspiration to make a difference to themselves let alone making a difference in the world. Formal education should be amply complemented with other modes of learning such as design thinking, real life practical experiments and learning from history among others. Even basic skills such as accounting, taxation and basic legal rights and acts should be imparted to our students at a junior level to spark interest in these fields as against the fields of Engineering and Medical that still swallow a majority of students.

This blog is an eye-opener. It presents to the world a platter with apt mix of theory and pragmatic approach. The world of theory provides the base on which the whole empire is built upon but it’s the practical approach or the practical mind-set which actually strengthens the walls and provides the enforcements which protects the whole empire and makes it stand though the test of times. There is a dire need to bring in the practical aspects and inculcate the same to the curriculum to have a right balance because all the theories can help in having an armoury on which anyone can bank upon. But what is much needed is knowledge of how and when to use the armoury. The present trend of using education just to land up to the right place is actually a cause of worry. Because in this way we are not actually learning, but only using the degrees to enhance our resume. India is producing millions of graduates and post graduates but what’s their worth. We are having a crowd which has qualification but not the right mix of education. Where will the country head towards with this continuing trend is something to ponder upon.

Education has been a great enabler for a lot of people. It sharpens knowledge which keeps you ahead of the game, and gives you certain skills required and in some cases helps to differentiate between two people with similar abilities. Formal education and has always been valued very highly. While education is a must to get that dream job, education cannot be restricted to just that. The definition of education as you have mentioned should span to various other forms of learning. As a scientist by profession all the formal education and theories would always be put to bed by an unpredictable result no matter how much we tried to predict a favorable result. Unpredictability could be the Achilles heel of sticking to just a formal education. If we are to go by the definition that you have proposed then education would be more holistic. Unpredictability can be minimized by life experiences. These life experiences help us survive, learn things we have never come across and learn to even predict to a certain level of accuracy the occurrence of an event (the gut feeling). Experiences make us tougher, wiser and sometimes even allow us to realize a potential that was never seen before. Along with a formal education these life experiences that consist of all the learning out of the classroom would make you better equipped for life than just a degree. As for the youth these life experiences will always open new doors and keep them interested in learning.

The blog presents an interesting thought on whether education prepares us for a job or for life. Is education what happens in flashy AC classrooms of a business school or what a person learns through experience while constantly noticing people around him? I agree to the simple observation that whatever imparts knowledge, moulds you, shapes you and prepares you for internal and external devils is education. This can come in many forms. From a professor teaching in class, a panvala, a vadapav vendor or a maid all can be source of life-long learning. Personally, I have felt the same. There is a lot to learn from every individual we meet in life. Each person has some strength from which we can learn. In my experience, I have felt the same with present PGPM batch. Every individual has come-in with a unique experience and there is a lot to learn from everyone. Though education also prepares one for a job but it has much larger impact on an individual. Learning from education remains with the individual like a companion to guide her with throughout the difficulties in life. There are numerous examples in real life that have applied their education in different sectors and achieved great heights. Overall, education is not merely an asset to get a job but it is a companion that stays with us for a lifetime. Thanks

Ma’am! I loved the simplicity with which you have explained how the role of education changes with the change in age. Knowingly or unknowingly, we have always considered knowledge and grades as two sides of the same coin. We have grown with the notion that better grade is an enabler of more and meaningful knowledge. While we cannot deny the very purpose of grades and scores, we must acknowledge and try to imbibe the greater purpose of knowledge, the purpose to learn and understand the nuances of life. Knowledge comes from learning and learning starts before we are born. Therefore, I would further like to add one more stage of life i.e. childhood age when education assumes a role of a companion. The journey of education starts from the womb of the mother itself. After coming to this world we start learning by using our senses and by observing the environment around us. We are taught by our parents to speak, to eat, to judge what is wrong and what is not, to know what to do and what not to. Knowledge gets tangible shape in youth and the hard purpose of education gets seemingly fulfilled in the form of a good job and role. Once we acquire the perception of achieving the required purpose based on our degree, we once again start the search of true and intangible knowledge. Job is just a part of life and education - a part of learning. It is tough to think of a moment when we are not learning. Even a moment of silence teaches us to introspect into our life. Leaning is a process that surely continues till the last breath.

What a wonderful article mam. It’s a much-needed eye opener for most of us. Over the years the immense competition, the greed to outperform others, the demanding life style has made us believe that education is a weapon that could be used to attain that envious job position, to earn a high pay package and to attain the luxuries of life. The question that you have raised - what education really is, needs deep thoughts from each one of us. I believe education teaches us how to live, how to tackle the tricky situation that life throws at us, it transforms us as a person, it disciplines us, it keeps us grounded and most importantly it builds our character. The no of degrees one has doesn’t make him/her a better person – as what is the use of all the degrees if one doesn’t know to respect the elders, if he/she is not compassionate towards the lesser fortunate people, if he/she takes relationship for granted and if they are not committed towards your work. As you have rightly pointed out mam, education is not only what one learns sitting in those modern temples of education- AC classrooms with their multi-media contraptions, but I too believe it is what we learn everyday through our experiences, though our surroundings, through interacting with people. And if we carefully observe there are so many people and so many opportunities from which we can learn. Each example that you have given in your article echoes the same. To relate your article with our current scenario I would like to say, as we are progressing through our PGPM course we are worried about our placements. I am sure we all will do well, but even if some don’t get the desired placements, let’s not make it a life and death matter as we have to understand it’s not end of life. The MBA program is going to give us much more than just the degree certificate or a high paying job, we have to realize the various subjects have broaden our horizon of knowledge, interacting with such a diverse class has given us newer prospective to problem solving, as also it has increased our network. More importantly it is going to make us a more informed and matured person and hopefully a more sensitive human being too, so let’s not devalue education, making it merely a placement weapon.

Your article provides great insight into how education is a life-long learning rather than just a medium to get a job. While reading it, I jogged my memory back to a documentary I had seen on the ancient Greeks. They believed in an education system which opened the eyes and ears of the student. In an era where theoretical concepts had just begun to develop it was necessary that individuals possessed the ability to take basic knowledge in a field and apply it towards an understanding based on logic and reason. Great people have always learned from the nature and environment around us. Observing an apple fall from a tree led Newton to formulate the theory of gravity. Unfortunately, today’s education has become a means to an end. Professional courses find more value than ‘pure sciences’, literature, arts or philosophy. Every educational programme is geared towards the certainties faced in future jobs. They don’t prepare you for the uncertainties which can be tackled only if you have played with the concepts, gone out of your comfort zone and taken risks. Today the education we receive only inflates our ego so as we do not value the learnings we get from all walks of life around us. You rightly say that a young mind with all its bravado and smugness is myopic. It only sees the immediate success; however small it may be compared to the investing in long term gain.

A very well written article Ma’am. I agree with you about the role that age plays in how we look at education. I believe that till we get our first job we see education just as a tool to get it but once we are into the job we wish we get that one more chance to redo our undergrad. We realise the importance of education only when we start working and that is when we start to connect the dots. We value education more, when we get that second chance and that is when I feel we really prepare for life by connecting the teachings to our lives. This is the time when we really start enjoying and we go that extra mile to know more things in a particular area. Our education post our stint in the corporate world is much more rewarding. Also you rightly pointed out that education is not all that you learn in classroom. Education can be anything that teaches you how to deal with the good and the bad in life and how to make informed decisions. Education could be imparted from anyone, anywhere and it all depends on how we receive it. This again I think comes with age about how to tackle with setbacks and how much do we learn from them.

The article was an eye opener for me Mam. I loved the part where you describe, how the student flatters and persuades the education till the time he/she attains the job and then dumps it once the goal has been attained. To concur your opinion, I believe this is a prevalent phenomenon across the student cohort who immerse themselves so much in their work that they lose touch with the education that the teachers had painstakingly imparted to them. Even the pedagogy at SPJIMR is devised in such a way that it not just prepares us to get the next best job, but to continue helping us during the course of our lives. Subjects like Design Thinking or experiences like DOCC prepare us to improve our social skills, become solution focused and action oriented. Education not only helps build confidence in our abilities but also equips us with essential life skills. Education also assists us to retain the concepts and ideas, which helps to fill the void between theory and practice. All of must reflect back upon our childhood and cognize the level of personal development we attained through education. The same is true for adulthood and will forever remain.

Education, the word, has originated from the Latin word ‘educare’ which means ‘bringing up (a child)’. It shows education as a concept in not only about the summation of multiple iterations of the study-exam-degree cycle and at the end landing a job or being able to earn. It is about a set of learning which would enable one to learn to live better and become a better human being. Unfortunately, in practice, especially in a country like India, we think about education as a tool to become employed. In a sense, it may be logical also in the sense that, for example, a common feedback from industry is there is more dearth of employability than that of employment opportunities and a logical reaction would be to blame education system in the country for that as a whole. Also the common parent or the common teacher (let’s not call her the educator in general) inculcating proverbs like those who study ride cars and those who do not study do not, affect the mind of a student in a way to relate the vision of the word education with the image of prosperity. All of these and many more nuances of our culture adds to the image of education as what it is today. In this context in my view we need to start to separate the idea of education from that of training as soon as possible. For example, engineering is a training in that sense, medical is a training and so on. But education is a much broader concept. It also includes the applicable learning in life that we get from any source whatsoever. The avenues through which we receive education (other people, media, general observation apart from conventional sources) is much more than training. It’s our training, experience compiled with education is what makes us employable, not only our education or not only our training. Can the contemporary parent and educational institutions lead this paradigm shift that is needed in the positioning of the ‘product’(!) education in their children/students? It is still something what is to be seen. Can it not be a start of a change in the way we perceive education?

Education – the next words that come to mind is school/college, studies, homework and exams. Well, who likes all that! As kids, we often wonder why we have to learn what we learn, why can we simply not go outside and play. As we grow older, we begin to wonder, does it really matter if I know when the non-cooperation movement started? How is that going to help me make money? This spawns the discussion – is education really important or is it just a formality to go through to start earning and make a living. Well one would say that education teaches us about how things work. Physics, chemistry and biology tell us about ourselves, the plants and animals around us, the laws that all living and non-living things obey, how they interact and react with each other. We use mathematics in almost all the things we do every day. Geography teaches us about our world and history teaches us about our existence, evolution, culture and the learnings from the past. These basic learnings coupled with our graduation and post-graduation courses implant the skills required to make a living. So, yes, education prepares us for a job. But is this entire scope of the word education? This is where we distinguish the word literacy from education. As rightly pointed out, education can come from various sources someone as simple as the roadside vendor who teaches us to manage accounts, the beggar’s kids who teach us sharing better than our teachers at school do. The famous dabbawallas of Mumbai who teach us strategy and management. Animals and nature that teaches us peace, harmony, nurturing and caring. Thus, in a broader sense, education does prepare us for life. But, in spite of waging wars in the past, losing countless human lives, we use science for making even more destructive weapons. Our technologies are making our lives simpler but also killing our planet every day. We continue to cheat and rob, not share and care, but to drill and kill. This makes one wonder, are we really using education to prepare for life or to eventually destroy it.

I am awed by how academicians such as yourself continue to remain grounded in the intricacies of everyday lives, with its many astute lessons, while also understanding their over arching principles and connecting them to their core principles of Economics, Marketing and their likes. I couldn't agree with you more in the principle that learning comes from diverse sources, be it from parental conditioning we receive from our childhood, many long years of classroom learning or from the many interactions in our corporate and personal lives. I also feel that there are many disparate avenues from which we as individuals pick up many life lessons. For instance from a love of the animal world, one picks up survival and design strategies, from sports one picks up team management and healthy competition tactics and from something as cute as teenage heartbreaks we learn how to deal with failures. In fact, I would go so far as to say that any and every experience that we have from the time we are conceived to the times of our passing form miniscule and yet essential plots in graphical representations of life's learning curve. Consciously or otherwise we manage to add a multitude of lessons in our mind which then help us traverse the complex journey of life. It is then, as you have rightly said Mam, that education prepares us for life, our jobs being just another crucial part of it.

The way in which the blog is written is really commendable and agree with most of the views by the author. Would agree with the author that even the most illiterate is actually educated and which we can see in our day to day life. In my views education prepares you for a secured life. This life may be through a job or a business or profession based on one’s personal wish. In the Indian context which is having predominantly middle class / lower income class, education is looked as a tool for getting a secured job and my views are expressed from this viewpoint Let’s see the perspective of education at various stages of an individual. In the earlier stages upto say 8th standard, education is more of understanding what is correct and what is wrong. Though academically we may learn several things, what we actually learn is how to survive. This can be understood from the perspective of a person coming from a poor family with illiterate parents. The one who studies from such a poor family, not only learns for himself but also teaches his family. This enables them to survive. The next phase is between 9th to 12th where education takes us into a horse race. Yes here the competition starts, and one starts getting educated with the objective of selecting a profession which he / she would like to pursue. Then comes the graduation course / professional course. Here the objective of education is to get a job or undertake a business / profession with which one can start a meaningful life. Meaningful life means financial security at this stage Education continues even after this stage when one gets a job or starts his / her own business / profession. We learn on a daily basis from the work atmosphere, from our peers, from our experienced seniors. Do we get educated only on job related activities, no way? We get to learn various other things other than job related activities such as people management, how to handle politics in office / business environment, cash management as we get to start saving and investing etc. In my view education not just prepares a person but also keeps grooming a person till his last breath. Hence it not just gets a job but helps a person lead a meaningful life, meaningful life here means not just financial security but also social status, power and position over a period.

This is indeed a very interesting topic- education and whether it prepares us for our life or for our jobs. Indeed very well said that it is not always necessary that we gain our knowledge by just sitting inside the well ventilated class-rooms. Every situation, every place, every single happenings in our lives teach us some important lesson. Life totally gives us the opportunity to implement our learnings both into our personal lives as well as our professional lives. Saying this, definitely our Alma-Matter lays down the base for our outlook and our thought processes. It makes us capable enough so that we can think through the tough situations of our lives by applying the theoretical aspects, judging and making decisions accordingly. Education-both theoretical and practical are like flip sides of a coin which goes hand in hand. While one teaches us what kind of situations we might come across, the other teaches us the way to handle it. Even infants teach us a lot of important things- the most important one according to me is the “Never give up” attitude. Whenever I see my child trying to do things which are almost next to impossible for her, I learn how important it is to never give up on situations which might not be presently in our favor. But, does that mean that it would never be? Every step of life, every individual who is in our life teaches us some important lessons. I knew a small vegetable vendor to whom we used to go regularly for our vegetable buy. The vendor always used to make it a point to put some extra green chilies into our bag and never used to charge us a single penny for that. He would also always ensure a smile on his face while doing so. This made us always walk up to him whenever we had to go for our vegetable shopping, even though he never had a lot of variety. This small experience taught us two important lessons- first being “Marketing is very important in every aspect of professional life” and the second and the most important one being- “A smile definitely does not cost us a penny”. By putting some extra green chilies into our vegetable bag with a smile, every time we visited him, he ensured that we walk up to him always for our vegetable shopping. Not only this, it also made us spread the good gesture of him among our neighbours which in turn meant more customers for him. The lesson learnt from these two experiences of my life can be implemented both in professional & personal life. So, I strongly believe that education does not only come from schools & colleges but we also get educated from our day to day activities in our lives. Finally for me it is always “Live and let live”.

Madam Tulsi Jayakumar has beautifully expounded the purpose and role of Education with remarkable instances. It is very true that in our journey of life our education starts in warm lap of our parents and our grandparents and continues up-to the modern day classrooms. However apart from the academic leanings in educational institutions, different circumstances encountered or various interactions in our life starting from our childhood days teach us several lessons which greatly impact us in shaping our characteristics and preparing ourselves for life ahead. A renowned philosopher, speaker and writer, Jiddu Krishnamurti has once said, “There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning. “ Education can take place in formal or informal settings and any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. During my childhood days when I was thirteen years of age, I was very much fascinated about the game of Cricket and wanted to learn, acquire and develop the skills of the game. I was brought up in a small place in Assam where there was no coaching facilities or developed infrastructure to go and have education on the game of Cricket. One fine day when I was browsing through the book shelves of our school library, suddenly a book on Cricket coaching by Vinoo Mankad caught my eyes. Now this had changed my life. I had got the book issued to me and got it re-issued weeks after weeks. This book had taught me the basics of the game, helped me acquire and develop few skills of the game. Subsequently there was a coaching programme by Mohinder Amarnath telecasted on Doordarshan every Sunday. This had given me an opportunity to learn and sharpen my skills of the game. Though I did not get any opportunity to have any formal education on the game, I was fortunate to have some indirect learning through the book and television. These indirect educations had prepared me to get qualified as a fast bowler and batsman in the district team, regional school team, college team and now my company team. Education is not only the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits but everything that moulds us, shapes us, and prepares us to face the blitzkriegs from the external and internal devils. Education also teaches us to rise above greed, jealousy and resentment and inspire us to position ourselves in the struggle for existence in life. Knowledge acquired through formal education in schools, colleges and universities has enabled us to develop our personalities, achieve the required competencies and prepare us primarily for a job we aspire to. However the acquired knowledge keeps on guiding us throughout our life to handle the future in a different way keeping in mind our responsibilities towards mankind, society and the nation. The meaning of Education was beautifully quoted by Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in the following phrases, “Real education enhances the dignity of a human being and increases his or her self-respect. If only the real sense of education could be realized by each individual and carried forward in every field of human activity, the world will be so much a better place to live in. “

To live is to learn, to learn is to live. This line says it all! Honestly current education system in India teaches neither Job or Life. It just leaves the students with piles of books for giving it old paper store and home work to be done while watching TV OR just repeat 10 times what was taught in class, does it help??? Let’s accept the fact that if you take a Donkey 3 times on same route than he too remembers the way. But can it learn a shorter OR smarter way to reach the destination? If you read with the above lens than you may just want to get your kid to stay at home instead of going to school but then are we humans so dumb that we are running schooling system has been going around since the days of Shantiniketan? Thankfully the answer is not so difficult to answer and I completely agree with Prof. Tulsi Jayakumar that it depends on which side of age group you belong Education plays a great role in everyone’s life.. Primary education prepares the base which helps throughout the life, secondary education prepares the path for further study and higher secondary, college and post-graduation education prepares the path of the future and guidance chip for whole life All that Education does is gives you direction both for life and for living and it is up to us to decide the type of person we want to become and type of work we want to do. All that I can say, education is life long journey and does not end with just college but one just keeps learning throughout the life. I believe that Death too is a learning!!!

A great piece of writing which tells about how should one learn and implement the learnings. In addition to the above I would like to add about the present scenario, which is Formal and Informal education. Let me throw light on both the aspects Formal Education, by definition, is the teachings that one receive in the class by lectures, presentations and case solving. It enhances one's book knowledge and ability to solve theoretical problems. It optimizes the behavioral skills of a person. Formal education is the study of inductive problems and their intrinsic solvability for both ideal and computable agents. Undoubtedly it will make you a champion in the corporate world. On the other hand Informal education is the learnings we receive outside classrooms through group discussions and exchanging thoughts. It is flexible, learner-centered, contextualized and uses a participatory approach. It does not require any certain level of communication skills and you are free to express your thoughts in the way you feel appropriate. Now the question is which is best for the development of an individual? If someone asks my opinion on this, I would say Informal Education is more vital for the development of an individual. It is because it brings out best in you by making you realize that you are free to express your thoughts and you will not be evaluated for it. Many of the world's greatest ideas like Facebook, WhatsApp or Flipkart have come out of informal discussions among the peers. Therefore, I believe that there is a strong need to promote the informal learnings because formal learnings combined with non-classroom discussions will be a long term asset. I am proud to be a part of the institution that has taken the initiative of informal learnings, in the form of PG Lab, long before.

A child is born with few rights. Like right to live, breadth, good life. And also, the society has decided on few necessities that help him to lead a happy and secured life. All these points to one necessity and one right – Right to education. Education is the pillar not just to success but also for basic needs one needs. It equips us with abilities to deal with people and situations in a more structured manner. We learn to tackle bad scenarios in the best possible way. Also, we learn to make things better. In school, we are taught since the beginning that study hard else we will become beggars. We will see our friends thrive in life, buying cars and getting good jobs, and we will get stuck doing nothing. We get ourselves involved in a race among each other, to get marks, to score in distinction and get better positions. These all the says the scenarios of today. All we care about is the jobs and money. The respect we earn after getting educated. But education is also for those who do not get the quality environment we got. A daughter of a cobbler, or a son of a sweeper goes to school as well today, at least the government is fighting for that. They do not go there with the aim of high paying jobs but a better lifestyle his or her family deserves. The education, whatever they can afford, is something that helps them grow forward, stay informed in life. Also, we can see aged people in villages going to night classes, women of families joining schools to learn basics. This is not for them to move to high paying jobs; the farmer still remains farmer and the housewife is still a housewife. But the education helps them in opening a bank account, read newspaper, and put signatures instead of thumb print. The above-mentioned examples show that education for jobs is an obvious outcome, but in a bigger picture it is for a better lifestyle. Not only for those going for higher education young middle class family members but also for others from all parts of the society. This makes the environment a healthy place to stay as everyone are able to contribute more for a better life.

The true purpose of education has always been open to individual interpretation and the debate never seems to end. Many may argue that education is required to better prepare the generations to enter workforce while other may say it shall be focussed more on social, academic, cultural and intellectual development of individual so that they can become better citizens. For me it is a lifelong never ending dynamic process. In words of American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer John Dewey, “Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself” and this read bears true resemblance to this thought. Education in a way should be a process by which the knowledge, character and behaviour of human being are shaped and moulded. It is not only the courses and subjects that one learns in school or colleges but the skills and values that leads to enlightenment of an individual. In today’s world to get a job it is very important to stay updated and modern education does the job of imparting subject knowledge efficiently. Education is the guiding force towards a better future in whichever form one receives it. It is an empowerment of the individual to make informed decisions for their own betterment and by its’ extension of the society. Education brings perspective. One may acquire great wealth of knowledge but may not be able to apply it in life situations defeats the whole purpose of education. Jobs and careers may change over time but education compliments your ability to adapt to those changes. It is more like a friend or a companion for life. The purpose of education at its core shall be to build individual who not only contributes to the economic prosperity but also social and political status of the society.

As I read through the first few lines of this blog and thought about learning and education, my mind automatically went to that Pandora’s Box of memories, of countless instances, people and events which made me learn so much about life itself. Ironically, none of those classroom lessons crossed my mind when I thought about learning which is funny because in India we students spend close to 60% time of our young years on formal education and learning. I agree that today sadly we all focus on the “Degree” and the “Dream Job” and not on the learning as such, our quality of education and success is measured by the pay-check we receive at the end of the month. I myself had been of the same thought process and all I wished for was THE JOB. After getting my first Job with my dream company, a respected MNC right after engineering, I had thought I will bring to use all my learned concepts, all the slogged formulas and equations to create an impact to my work. Sadly, not one day did I use them, the only “education” that helped me was the one that life in general had taught me. Punctuality that I had learned from my father, being respectful to others even during a conflict or argument that I had learnt from my grandfather, to keep faith in self that I had learned from those ugly breakups, the value of uniforms and importance of equality that school had taught me were my assets. Understanding of the human behaviour was the only learning that helped me during my tenure and also was my greatest takeaway. I am fascinated by the analogy of education as a lover and companion that the author shared and yes I agree to every word. This blog gave me food for thought for life and it inspires me to seek the companionship of education.

It’s a well written article ma’am. "Education prepares you for life or a job?" To answer this question one more question is important that what or how you are educated? Education according to most of the people is based on how much score you are going to get, but most of the people fail to understand that how much of it is going to be useful later, you learn differential equations to get good score but you are totally unaware of where you can use it. I think life is very practical and very straightforward, so if you want education to serve the purpose of life or rescue you in life, then you should be educated related to the practical side. You don't learn swimming to pass or score, people consider it as extracurricular may be, may be it is but trust me it prepares you in so many ways, people think it can rescue you or can be a reason to rescue others, but it has a lot other aspects which people won't see with their narrow mind. If you are educated in a practical way you are not educated for a particular job, but there are opportunities for many jobs. Because how much you know will prove your talent rather than how much you score. People are very narrow minded in putting more pressure in some things that aren't important, but not even bothered about something which is more important. You learn what you like rather than doing something which you impress your society or get appreciation from your relatives. So concluding with learn to know , not to show others, jobs will come and go but life goes on, and education is not only through books, it's also by experience and a lot more than what normal people think.

Respected Mam, Your article left me awe. It is written so beautifully and intellectually. After reading the article, I was like, ‘Huh’. I was amazed how differently you explained the meaning of ‘Education’. I completely agree with your statement that, *‘Everything that moulds you, shapes you, prepares you to face the onslaughts from the external and internal devils, teaches you to rise above complacence, greed, jealousy and envy, makes you a fighter- and inspires you to fight- whether for your girl/guy, your job or your life - is what I call education.’ Before joining SPJIMR, I was working with my father in our family business, and the lessons that he taught, as well as my uncles, grandfathers (paternal & maternal), are invaluable. I do not think any business school in the world would be able to teach me those. But, on the other hand, the formal education as well is just as important if not more. The formal education made me think in a different way about businesses and related aspects to it. I believe it is the culmination of both, along with own experience, that really makes a person competent to face adversity in life and prepares one to become successful. Let’s take my case for a second, I tried to run the business with whatever knowledge I had, unfortunately, it was not sufficient to run the business successfully. It was an amalgam of a bit of observed knowledge and a bit of educational knowledge I gained in engineering school. I had no practical experience and hence, I failed. But now, as I am learning the business concepts along with practical application via methodologies used in classes; I can confidently say that I’m more capable to run the business effectively. The way you explained the Education in commonplace is so clever and makes me think about the minute activities that happen with me and their effects on me. These are everyday transactions that happen and I never even noticed them, but ever since I read your article, I’m always looking out for the piece of knowledge whether relating to Marketing, Finance etc was being applied. Ha! The way you played with the question answer you asked is very interesting. I believe spicing up the answer with a bit of romance made the article very funny, sensible and relatable. Also, the way you wrote about the different role education plays during different aspects of life is something I’m still wondering about. It is a really deep thought. Something I need to think more upon… Thank you

Higher education needs to focus on better preparing millennials for the workforce by equipping them with the tools needed to be successful. A sole theoretical approach without incorporating real world experiences in the classroom is problematic. Many institutions choose to ignore this and are doing a great disservice to the students. In many cases I think our educational system has failed because it does not emphasize enough liberal arts. We seem to be stuck teaching both to tech prep and basic repetition of facts and not enough in the areas of knowledge and excitement of creative thinking. We need all areas. If you take a walk down the classics for instance, a rudimentary knowledge of Greek narrative can set you up to understand the human condition. This understanding is valuable in sales, management, diplomacy, and military tactics. Actually when you learn works of Shakespeare and others, some fundamental Latin concepts, several plots of fictional works stretching to now and names and anecdotes that are useful in almost every field. And what's more you see a connection between history and the contemporary. This is just one example of an endless supply of classic education subjects. I think that higher education institutes and schools in general need to change to adapt to new realities. Our educational institutions need to ignite the skill for the excitement of learning. Our great country was built on the back of classical education. While there are exceptions like Mukesh Ambani etc most of our great leaders have come from a wide base of education. I think the idea that classical education should be the only path is wrong. The education system needs to be changed and changed drastically. It is more about returning to the idea that education should be lighting a fire instead of filling a bucket. So education system should provide a mix of classic education and real world experience, so that it becomes a guide in your life.

This article made me re-think what is the true definition of education. We believed, education is a process of gaining knowledge from an institution and using the same to earn our livelihood. But, learning at the institutes is only a small chapter of being educated. The knowledge imparted there is limited in scope. It is restricted to whatever relates to a special profession or trade. But in true sense, education is not confined to the classrooms or seeking jobs. Education for living is a subset of education for life. We learn by observing and communicating with people around us. We learn from the mistakes we make. We may gain some skills and secure a job but at times when it comes to securing life they fail. At such times, experiences come to our rescue. So much of our life involves dealing with new situations and problems for which there are no text book answers. But we can use our experience as a resource for learning by thinking about situations deeply and reflectively in order to make sense and create meaning. Education goes beyond the realm of formal settings and life itself is a learning process.

I really appreciate the way a term like education is being explained in this article in a very simplistic and logical way. Ms. Jayakumar has raised a very intellectual question that all of us need to ask from ourselves whether education prepares us for a job or for a life. Indeed, education is just a set of learnings and skills that stays with us all our life and helps us in fighting all kinds of adversities and challenges of life. It helps us in making a living for ourselves. As Ms. Jayakumar has very well explained that age bracket also plays a very important role in forming our perception about education. When we are young, we usually get so caught up in the competitiveness of this world. The zest to survive and perform the best amongst others may often lead us in forming a wrong perception about our purpose of acquiring education. But what after when we pass this age and our short-term purpose of acquiring education is solved? It is at this stage of life that we realize that education is provided to us for a much larger purpose. Education comes not only from reading books, attending lectures or even making projects, but also from all the small details from life. This kind of learning can only come if we learn with the purpose of using all what we learnt. As Mahatma Gandhi has very rightly said,” Live as if you were to die tomorrow and learn as if you are to live forever”. It is high time that we start looking at the bigger picture of everything and start learning the maximum we can with an open mind and never stopping. If we start doing that, we can safely say that education is here to stay with us for life.

This article was truly a treat to read. You have so easily related the academics with reality from all walks of life. Giving examples of application of the concepts and actually showing how even the “uneducated” people use them. This element of the article is the highlight depicting the actual meaning of education. Education is not about degrees or grades rather it is about learning and leading life. When I was younger for me education meant passing each class and becoming the topper. But as I grew and completed my high school, I realized that it’s not just about grades rather it is about application too. However education was still limited to concepts taught in class. It was just a few years back that I was able to understand the significance of the word “Education”. It is not just about school or college syllabus, which trains your mind. It is also about learning the soft skills like attitude, empathy etc. It is today when I am about to embark for a new journey outside my home country that I have realized the significance of those boring history and geography lessons. And at the same time realize how important it is to perceive people and their culture with an open mind. However it’s true that at this point of time education for me is more about job than life. But the way you described how we change our perception and use of the education seems to fit in my experience till now. This is a very new perspective that I have come across that we perceive education differently at different stages of life. Though the title evoked similar thoughts in my mind that my definition kept changing at different ages I was not able to relate until I read the article. So thank you for sharing this new view.

I find the writing quite relevant to my thoughts, and I would totally agree that to live is to learn. In this dynamic world the only way to keep up is to be updated and keep learning. Learning to learn is hence an important aspect which should be included in education system at early age. Education is important due to various reasons. It is difficult to function in any society without some level of education. The education may be technical, or autodidactic, but it is nonetheless a form of education. , without any education of exterior sources, we will be able to educate yourself, but you will mostly learn it off the hard way, and if do too many errors, we could be rejected by society and not live that well. education will permit us to receive the knowledge and not redo the same error or experiments as your ancestors. That is why education exists, to spread knowledge and help humanity to advance in evolution faster than what the evolution would do by itself. Knowledge enables us to make decisions about different things. It opens our mind so we know how to find information and so on. But having said that, there exist a gap between the education provided and skills required in the workplace. The education system does not teach us to think independently, to create new taught about questions. Independent thinking is necessary as it acts as a catalyst to generate confidence. Independent thinking which is necessary for creative thinking and self-confidence required at a workplace. Remember that naughty classmate who in this career has been quite impressive. Big companies like Google, Apple give their employees freedom to think creatively. Education somehow fails to nurture this thinking pattern. I think our education system needs to invest more in the teachers so that teachers, in turn, could bridge this gap.

"Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man"– Swami Vivekananda. Education aims at making you a better person. We are born to lead a happy life, Love of people around us, earn respect in the society and a sustainable livelihood that makes us happy. Education is a facilitator to all of this. Education is that which enlightens one’s creativity. Enhances individual’s courage to face difficult tasks. Nobody taught Though Eklayva didn’t actually learn how to shoot bow and arrow, due to his determination and hard work, he became better than Arjuna. Which means one doesn’t need a formal education to lead a life. Learning comes in any form. Every instance of our life is a learning which makes us a better person. Education is about enhancing your everyday life, not merely helping you to get a job.

The main purpose of education is to equip young adults and children with the skills that will enable them to build successful careers. But unfortunately, the evidence shows the prevalence of skills shortage alongside very high statistics of youth unemployment. The skills deficiency is a huge challenge being faced by economies across the globe, as resources with little or no skills have negative implications for the economies and the individuals themselves. On another front, in words of Peter Sloane, Most of the college graduates are settled in a job that do even require a degree or the skills learned by the graduates in college are not fully utilized. This proves to be harmful to the interests of the employers and the well being of the employees and leads to lower productivity and job satisfaction. Having over skilled graduates in less skill demanding positions has repercussions for lower skilled and less educated segments of the society which are unable to find jobs according to their skill set. Young people find it incredibly difficult to find jobs suitable to their profile even with more qualifications and years of education. Government must formulate policies to bridge the gap between education and employment. Enabling the employers and educators to work together can enable a more successful transition from education to a job and may help reduce skills mismatch and over-education. Another way for increasing the skilled workforce can be to shorten the amount of time candidates spend in secondary school. This will help to control the rising shortage of highly skilled workers and can also aid the tax sustainability by enabling people to work longer. Although actions like this may be controversial and might draw criticism, some decisions need to be taken to ensure that our education systems today do not fail the demands of tomorrow.

Dear Ma’am, I really like the thought -To live is to learn, to learn is to live and I agree with the point that the education prepares us for the job as well as for the life. The aim of the education is to provide fundamental skills to students, and those skills can be problem-solving, creative thinking and analytical techniques so that students are adaptable to any new workplace. Schools and universities play a vital role in the development of these skills and qualities. However, it is also true that many university are less interested in developing students for job. But the real danger is in "training for job" than "education for life" to the student. Universities and employers have a shared responsibility of employability of students, but it has to be thought whether developing students for the first job or for life is the business of education. I will say that in India, there is often a transition period between graduates leaving education and becoming established in their career. Experience at the engineering college definitely helped me in training time in my first job and apprentice as a student helped me more than my course but education for job cannot be taught in academics. Schools and colleges can have consultation with employers on the subjects in their courses and put employment at the center in designing course. Many employers have expectation from graduates about team-work, leadership, innovation, and even managerial abilities, apart from the knowledge of their degree subjects. Employers also want the graduates to be ready for job which is not fair because some graduates are let down and are at disadvantage when applying for a job. Many employers do not have realistic idea of what they want schools to teach. There can also be risks in making employers to advice in designing degree courses. Some courses were designed by working with employers, but those courses were not popular among students and employers. So the aim of the education should be to provide well-rounded education that develop students for the rest of our life