By Alusine Fullah
The 2013/4 Education for All Global Monitoring Report shows why education is pivotal for development in a rapidly changing world. It explains how investing wisely in teachers, and other reforms aimed at strengthening equitable learning, transform the long-term prospects of people and societies. Apart from the foregoing report, Goal 4 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals talks about access to quality education. It states: Ensure Inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong opportunities for all. So, the above assertions have spoken volume that both national and international, countries should set the stage for quality education for the demands and needs of 21st century.
Historically, children were educated through life experiences; people learned from other humans. The basic notion of schools that all children would attend—a time and place to intentionally structure teaching and learning—came into existence in the 16th and 17th centuries. Public schools are a product of the Age of Enlightenment, one of the institutions to cultivate reason and the capacity of people to improve their lives and build a better social order as a result of individual agency and collective efforts.
Education is the basic postulate of the contemporary society of every individual. The purpose of education is to teach an individual to take on a specific role in the community and to meet basic needs. For centuries, education was a privilege for a small group of people. Educational progress arises with the emergence of industrialization. In this 21st century, literacy is rising rapidly, leading to an expansion of education.
The Importance of Education is an important issue in one’s life. It is the key to success in the future and to have many opportunities in our life. Education has many advantages for people. For instance, it illuminates a person’s mind and thinking. It helps students to plan for work or pursue a higher education while graduating from university.
Having education in an area helps people think, feel, and behave in a way that contributes to their success, and improves not only their personal satisfaction but also their community. In addition, education develops human personality, thoughts, dealing with others and prepares people for life experiences. It makes people have a special status in their own society and everywhere they live in. I believe that everyone is entitled to have education ‘’from cradle to grave’’. There are various benefits of having education such as having a good career, having a good status in society, and having self-confidence. First of all, education gives us the chance of having a good career in our life. We can have plenty of chances to work at any workplace we wish. In other words, opportunities for a better employment can be more and easy. The highly educated we are the better chance we get.
In the context of Sierra Leone, education has been an unfulfilled task in the last decades. However, the launch of Free Quality Education by President Bio has added more muscles to the growth of education. In the launch of this initiative H.E Bio said: “My Government is determined to have a break from our immediate past. This is why as a Presidential Candidate; I prioritized Education in the SLPP Manifesto and continued as President during my Address on the 4 occasion of the State Opening of the First Session of the Fifth Parliament. In both documents, education is espoused as a powerful instrument for national development and progress.”
Improving learning and educational standards (formal or informal) exponentially starts with committed with the introduction of structured educational facilities from the onset. This does not suggest limitless growth, but rather, a clear vision of what the endgame is and a theory of change about the best way to get there. The launch of Free Quality Education is vividly in line of meeting the packages of the 21st century educational standards.
In all the countries that have developed today, the people in those countries have acknowledged that education is the key to socio-economic and political transformation. They have also acknowledged that education is a basic human right, which plays a pivotal role in combating ignorance, disease, and poverty.
Education in the 21st century does not mean the formal aspect of education, but education with entrepreneurship skills development. This means that people bake themselves with quality education. Education that can instantly take and push them to the world market for job opportunities.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Monday, January 22nd, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
