Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

 – Nelson Mandela

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Every one of us knows the benefits of good education – this is the path to self-improvement, a professional realization and since Antiquity – an indicator of social status. Education isn’t solely a system for gathering knowledge, it is also the only way the world changes for the better, develops and expands its horizons. What makes it unique is its ability to form our outlook, to help us form our own judgment and to create personalities and leaders. Thereupon throughout the years of our secondary and tertiary education we are not only building a solid foundation of knowledge but also moral and self-esteem.

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In this incredibly competitive world it’s essential to never forget the importance of a good education because this is precisely the main tool for building a strong nation. One truly intelligent and cultural nation is one with self-esteem, free and insusceptible to manipulation. This forms stable and independent institutions which in combination with high education are the necessary precognition for a strong economic progress.

Following this logic, it’s not surprising that the most developed countries in the world are indeed the ones who invest the most time and funds in developing their educational systems.

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Ranked in the top 10 most literate countries in the world are South Korea and Finland. They are also an example of two systems adapted to the specificity of each nation and achieving great results as well.

The levels of workload of students are very different, placing them on both extremes. The invested funds are comparable according to GDP. For Korea around 5 % and for Finland – 7%. This shows one very important element (essential) – how the educational system is adapted to the population.

Something that is extremely emphasized in both examples is the improvement of the non-cognitive skills. These are communication, emotional intelligence, team work, entrepreneurship and problem solving. Here can be found the positive example for countries that strive to modernize and adapt their own education. In the same time this proves that there are no universal solutions.

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Unfortunately even in some developed and rich countries such as the United States, the UK and Australia difficulties the access to education is really difficult. America is the country with one of the most expensive educational systems in the world. The great disparity in tuition fees in public and private universities creates an enormous gap between the rich and poor parts of society.

The difference in taxes reflects directly on the quality of education. The more affordable universities for the middle class rarely provide good schooling.

However the fees in the best universities are unbearable for most families. With prices up to $60,000 in “Ivy League” universities many talented and bright kids are automatically denied the opportunity to good education. Thus they get a bad start in life compared to kids from more wealthy families.

This forms a small cycle of people with better financial resources, better education and respectively more professional opportunities. This way, the gap between poor and rich increases furthermore.

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In 2000 UN created “The Millennium Development Goals”. As their second goal the member states set “To achieve universal primary education”. The objective is that by 2015 every kid to have access to school.

Unfortunately this task still seems far away, especially in some developing countries. According to recent studies 125 million children don’t have access to education. The reasons for that are several.

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One of the main causes is extreme poverty, mainly in Central Africa and South and Western Asia. In Guinea and Nigeria, the countries with the highest illiterate rates, agriculture is one of the main ways to sustain. At the same time it remains on a very low technological level and kids are forced to work from a young age, helping their families.

The lack of funding from the government limits furthermore the access to school. Often parents are required to spend additional money for their child’s education – expenses that are unbearable for most families. The deficit of literate people leads to another obstacle – the shortage of qualified teachers. This way kids stay unable to read and write even after a few years spent in school. This automatically entails a low economic development and poverty.

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The second reason for the high illiteracy are civil unrest and military actions. The youngest country in the world – South Sudan has the lowest percent of educated population – hardly 27 %. Due to the civil war that started in 2013 the country’s educational system is now completely destroyed. According to the UN Human Rights Committee more than 15,000 kids are recruited as soldiers and are forced to participate in the conflict only in South Sudan. Around 70 % of children between 6 and 17 years old have never set foot in a class room.

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These types of counties fall in a vicious cycle – low education, illiterate population, weak economic development, poor society and again low education. It’s clear that without the help of rich and developed countries and international humanitarian organizations this cycle cannot be broken.

Beside the difficult access to education a big part of societies are faced with another obstacle – the difference in literacy between the sexes. Examples of that are Afghanistan and Yemen. Only 12 % of girls have access to school opposed to 43 % of boys.

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Developing the educational system doesn’t help only the economy of a country. It’s a crucial factor in forming a rich culture and an intelligent society. A big part of the cultural differences and their misconceptions lead to many military, civil and even international conflicts, unfortunately still present today.

The incomprehension of ethnic, cultural and above all religious differences is at the base of the deep stratification in modern societies and intergovernmental communications.

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The examples for racial and religious discrimination even in developed and rich societies in Europe and America are daily. The educated person holds the qualities of the best human character. These being such as a sense of justice and aesthetic, tolerance, flexibility and confidence. He has knowledge in History, Philosophy and understands the human cultures and value systems. Combining this with his sense of justice he is able to think critically on moral and ethical questions.

The development of the social and health systems is also directly dependent on education. A literate person is capable of taking care of his own health better. He follows a good diet, has better hygiene and habits for health prevention. The educated societies have well developed health systems, which explains the longer average life expectancy.

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 However the most important role education has is as a foundation of democracy. All progressive societies strive to meliorate their government structures as they fight against sexual and racial discrimination. Naturally, the education, leads to successfully battle corruption and criminality.

These enormous differences in educational systems and opportunities lead to the massive differentiation we are witnessing in the 21 century. All of the problems listed above are the cause for the migration wave we observe the last 5 years.

From one side we have the developed countries of Europe, East Asia and America that are constantly trying to improve the living conditions of their population. On the other – The Third World countries who fight with hunger, diseases, criminality, high corruption, poor communication networks and religious, sexual or ethnic discrimination.

All of this leads to weakened governmental institutions and a lack of democratic processes. These are precisely the problems we encounter in some developing countries. Scattered by dictatorships often there is an absence of institutions who can serve as regulators for public processes. We should not be surprised at all by the migration of people from developing countries to the Western world in a search for normal life conditions.

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To summarize – education and gained knowledge create a person’s horizon and are able to change his life. Education brings opportunities for realization and moves the world toward progress. Providing accessible education of good quality create a large and solid base of educated people who can work as engines for their societies, should become a world priority. This is the surest and fastest way to development and overcoming the majority of today’s global problems.     

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• Viktoria Buchkova

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