Editorial
Recently, the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education in Punjab announced the matriculation results. Toppers performed well; some got 1192 out of 1200 marks. Splendid. But is it the end of the education our Republic needs the most? What education is all about?
The Republic Policy believes in the underlying purpose of education:
First, the purpose of education is to open the minds of the people. After educating in class or a course, students must have the ability to think critically, develop self-reflection, and self-correction. The whole idea of educating a child must revolve around the famous statement made by the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” It means that people must think about their choices, beliefs, and actions to live a truly good and meaningful life
Second, the purpose of the education must be the cultivation of narrative imagination in children. They must understand other people’s emotions, feelings, and beliefs. As Martha Nussbaum in her book, Why Democracy Needs Humanities?, defines the narrative imagination as the ability to think what it is like to be in another person’s shoes, serving as an intelligent reader of their story and understanding their unique desires and emotions.
Third, the purpose of the education is to build an ability for independent research. In an era marked by information outflow, abilities like conducting independent research and demarcating between information and misinformation, are most significant than ever.
