When I think about education, the first thing which comes to my mind is I am nothing without it. I cannot imagine my life without reading books and writing something only for myself even in my bizarre fantasy. People connect education with many things with the position they hold after getting an education, the money they earn because of education, the freedom they get because of education etc. They have their own dictionary and theory about education. But for me, education is that thing which liberated me from every dimension. Neither I connect it only with money nor only with power. You may think why she is only talking about what she thinks about education. But today is my graduation day so I have the hudge thinking about education early in the morning. And in a way, I don’t want to suppress it. So, I am not just thinking I am writing also.
Like every middle class, for my family also being educated means being more powerful. I think I am privileged enough my parents never forced me to get those types of degrees which have more career options and more money. My parents never told me education is about money. Mostly we don’t talk about money and education together. For them, I am graduate, my brother is doing master’s that means a lot. Sometimes when I think about them my eyes fill with tears. They liberate me in any sense. So, I always tell my friends I never seek inspiration outside because my family is always there to inspire me. My mom has always been the great inspiration to me. How she got the education is always been the great story of inspiration to me. And my father’s decision to send her again school after 10 years is that thing which inspires me to be a better person like him. Maybe because of my mother’s story I value education more. Maybe my father’s decision to send her school.
Today early in the morning my father called me and said:”Please capture more photo.” At that time I felt that it’s not my convocation today is my parent’s convocation. They are more excited than me. They are excited because they value education. They are excited because they know what education means. Sometimes we discuss about education from very narrow perspective. We only connect it either with money or power. As if degree means money giving machine. We hardly talk about the real meaning of education. As an educated human being how critical we are, how we take morality and ethics, how we stand with everything comes in our way. These things hardly become discourse in a larger platform. Sometimes I feel that in Nepal education is all about popular culture. People are getting degrees because everyone is getting degrees. Neither they are critical of themselves nor they know what is the real meaning of education. But in a sense it is good at least they are educated and they have some skills.
I don’t know my opinion feet in all the cases or not. But I don’t connect education only with money or power. Yes, we need money. However, education is not only about money. Education liberates you. It makes you free. It makes you liberal. It gives you dignity. It makes you better human being. Education is not only skill, it is more about making you a better person. And today, I am very much grateful to all my amazing teachers from elementary school to university. They gave me confidence. They gave me dignity. They gave me a freedom to be myself. And my parents, who made me free from all the gender restrictions, from all the financial problem and always said me just you read then only we will be happy and treated me as if I am the most intellectual girl of the world although I know I lack many things.
जम्नु........