education is a commodity for sale critically discuss
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Education as commodity
OpinionDr Shahnaz KhanApril 29, 2015
Education is a basic human right – like food, healthcare, shelter and many other necessities of life. The concept of social contract was promoted with the advent of the nation-state; under this social contract the state is responsible to guarantee us certain basic human rights. Though there is some debate
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Education is a basic human right – like food, healthcare, shelter and many other necessities of life. The concept of social contract was promoted with the advent of the nation-state; under this social contract the state is responsible to guarantee us certain basic human rights.
Though there is some debate on what is covered under this social contract, there should be no doubt that all citizens should be provided most of the basic and fundamental necessities required to live a fulfilling life with dignity. Education is one of these fundamental human rights.
However, under capitalism education has been converted into a commodity – just like many other necessities of life – to be bought and sold with the sole purpose of generating profit. This has led to drastic changes in how society perceives the role of knowledge in human life and how it is imparted and acquired.
The real purpose of education is to gain knowledge to enrich human life, enhance the intellectual capabilities of people, promote curiosity, and enlighten and broaden minds in order to propel human society towards achieving the goal of creating a just, fair, and equitable world free of prejudices, conflicts, want, hunger, deprivation, oppression, and exploitation.
However, the act of seeking knowledge is now equated with acquiring degrees and skills leading to better employment opportunities and making the most money possible. Parents and students invest in education so that in future that money can be encashed many times over. And those who are entrusted with the responsibility of imparting that knowledge do so with the main purpose of making money and have made it into a profitable business.
The status of teachers has been reduced to that of wage labourers. Buildings are built, people are hired, and students are enrolled with the main focus on making profit. The market place offers a variety of educational experiences based on one’s purchasing capacity just like clothes, shoes, food etc. While there are schools that lack even teachers, books, drinking water and bathroom facilities, there are others with air-conditioned rooms, computers, science labs, art and music training.
This has led to the stratification of society based on individuals’ financial strength. Poorly equipped low quality schools are basically factories churning out low-skilled workers to provide cheap labour in factories, on agricultural lands, and at businesses owned by the rich, while the elite send their children to elite schools to be groomed and trained to become the next generation of rulers.
This is the result of the privatisation of education not only in Pakistan but pretty much all over the world. This system has been promoted and perpetuated under a neoliberal philosophy where the rule of the market is considered divine and making profit is the sole incentive for human effort and initiative. It is promoted under the myth that privatisation increases efficiency and quality.