Functions of Education
Education is essential for every society and individual. It is life itself but not a preparation for life. Man has various qualities. These qualities of the individual should be developed for the improvement of the country. So, education plays a complementary role for overall individual, social and national development. It enables an individual to realize his highest self and goal. The key functions and roles of education towards individual, society and country are listed below.
(1) Functions of Education towards Individual:-
(i) Strengthen the personality:
Education helps in strengthening the personality of an individual. An educated person is smart, confidant and brave. He cannot be easily feared or duped. A highly educated person is like a tree; he always behaves kindly and never possesses any ego.
Developing personality- The whole personality of the child is developed physically, intellectually, morally, socially, aesthetically and spiritually. He is recognized in the society.
(ii) Ethical behavior:
Education promotes ethical behavior. Educated people always believe in fair practices. They behave ethically in all fields of life.
Modifying behavior- Education helps to modify the past behavior through learning and through different agencies of education.
(iii) Helps in transformation of an individual:
Education transforms a person and makes him more balance and calm. An educated person is balanced physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.
(iv) Borders the mind of an individual:
An educated person has broader perspective towards life. He does not waste his life into little details. He is open minded person and a good listener, he gives importance to other‘s view point.
(v) Improves the future of a person:
Education truly improves the future of an individual. He earns his living with the help of his skill and knowledge.
(vi) Improves reasoning and thinking power:
An educated person is a logical person who thinks widely and for all. He has no self-fish interest and do not promote unnecessary wastage. He knows how to increase and maintain the supply.
(vii) Maintain clean environment:
Education teaches a person to preserve the natural environment, educated people believe in living in a clean and hygiene environment. They do not make their environment dirty by throwing trash everywhere.
(viii) Development of inborn potentialities:
Education helps the child to develop the inborn potentialities of child providing scope to develop.
(ix) All-round development:
Education aims at the all-round development of child-physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual.
(x) Preparing for the future:
After completion of education the child can earn its livelihood getting proper education, which has productivity. The education should be imparted according to the own interest of the child.
(2) Functions of education towards society:-
(i) Social change and control:
The society is never station. It is progressive and dynamic. The child lives in society. It is the social environment where the personality of the child can be developed. The old traditions, customs are preserved and transmitted with the situations, which are ever changing. We should not think or believe in the blind beliefs, which are hindrances towards our development. Education helps to walk with the development of science and technology.
(ii) Removal of unwanted traditional customs:
Many places we see people blindly following traditional customs, these traditional ageold customs are harmful for society, practice of such custom can never lead mankind towards development. For example, earlier Sati system, Child remarriage was followed blindly, it was only because of educated people, India could successfully get rid of this harmful custom. Education helps us to understand that change is the law of nature. Nothing remains stagnant. Thus, with time one has to change to achieve progress and development
(iii) Reconstruction of experiences:
Education is life-long process. Life is education and education are life. Life is full of experiences. One cannot live with his past experiences which are unable to adjust in the society. So, education helps the individual to reconstruct the experience and adjust with the environment.
(iv) Development of social and moral value:
Society is always in tension with narrowism. There is no social or moral value. Now the man is behaving like an animal. Animality can be changed with moral education. Education teaches the moral value and social value like co-operation, tolerance, sympathy, fellow feelings, love affection, respect towards elder, helping the poor and needy persons.
(v) Development of science and technology:
Education is the reason behind the faster development of science a technology. Construction of roads, bridges, big buildings, new technology, advanced modes of transport etc. all were possible because of highly educated scientist and inventors.
(vi) Providing opportunity or equality:
Indian Constitution has introduced the term ‗equality‘ because we are not getting equal opportunities in all aspects. Education teaches us to give equal opportunities in all aspects irrespective of caste, creed, color, sex and religion. Education promotes equality and wellness. Men and women deserve equal opportunity in all aspect. Education helps individual to fight for their right and eradicate inequality and poverty. Education fights against prejudice and hatred and promotes a friendlier atmosphere and teaches us to give equal opportunity and respect to all caste, religion, creed etc.
(vii) Preserves the nature:
Education helps in development of system that maintains ecological balance. It discourages unnecessary wastage and helps in maintaining equality between the supply and demand.
(3) Functions of education towards nation:-
(i) Inculcation of civic and social responsibility:
Education helps to make rising generation to understand its rights and duties as citizens of a democratic country.
(ii) Fight for right and duty:
Education makes people aware about its rights as a human being and as citizen of a country. It helps people to fight for their right, and eradicate unfair practices. Education helps in achieving freedom by making people to aware of their duties and rights as citizens of country.
(iii) Development of leadership or Training for leadership:
The leadership quality of the individual is developed when he participates in all spheres of social, political, religious and educational activities. Education helps in the development of leadership quality inside a person. It helps in the inner growth of a person which makes him active and socially, politically, and religiously a responsible citizen.
(iv) National integration:
We are living in one country having diversities in respect of color, caste, language, diet, dress, habits and physical environment. Educational integration leads to emotional integration. Education trains people for unity, not for locality, for democracy and not for dictatorship. Education serves the most important end of educating the man.
Education has made the citizen of a country tolerant other person. We see many citizens of highly developed and developing countries more tolerant towards the people of other cast, colour, language, habits. Education helps to eradicate dictatorship and trains people for democracy.
(v) Total national development:
Education helps for bringing about total national development by developing its all aspects i.e. social, economic, cultural, spiritual, moral, educational, etc.
Therefore, really education is an essential ingredient for all ages and stages of the life of an individual, society as well as the nation. Education can be a real panacea for all social evils.
Education has truly leaded in development of the nation. International transaction, globalization etc. all are the gifts of education.
Education is essential for every individual. There should not be any gender biasness towards education; women must have equal right for education. Education is not restricted to age, society, caste or gender, people of any cast, society, age or gender can choose to educate themselves.
