Letter to an Editor of the Campus Newspaper - Essay Example

of the of the Concerned 24 April 2009 Letter to an Editor of the Campus Newspaper Dear Editor, The purpose of this letter is not only to bring to fore the new developments in the field of education, but also to establish the validity of such innovations in the context of the changing socio-economic environment. Every open minded individual is well aware of the fact that human evolution is a continual process and hence education is one major instrument of human evolution. However, one prominent problem with the conventional education system is that despite being aware of the revolutionary role of education in the 21st century, it considers education to be a passive and static phenomenon. The fact is that any effective education system should definitely be responsive to the emerging socio-economic needs and trends and hence must be dynamic and flexible. The primary function of education is to remove limitations to the individual and collective enlightenment and online education is an option that perfectly caters to the current social needs and aspirations. It is a dynamic system of education that is utterly adaptable to the educational needs of the contemporary society. Online education is a system of instruction that is bound to shatter the set elitist notions of education and is perfectly sensitive to the subaltern and sidelined sections of the society like single parents, physically challenged people, people with the learning disabilities, ethnic minorities and students from the poor sections of the social strata. Till date, the education system has been a victim of an elitist conspiracy. The concept of education is strictly confined to the notions of space and time. The traditional education system is primarily teacher centric and tends to control the students through the means of admission and attendance requirements. Despite the countless innovations in all the aspects of Western civilization, the education system has remained more or less the same. People still tend to associate education with fixed premises like the schools, colleges and universities. Not only this, but the access to such academic institutions is mostly limited to the students who primarily possess the time, resources and credentials that have remained more or less stereotypical till date. Such formalities and foundations gave the conventional education system the power to define the profile of the individuals who could have access to academic achievements and social benefits. It left no scope for the hitherto sidelined sections of the society like the poor, single parents, ethnic minorities, people with learning disabilities, etc. In that sense, the traditional education system is certainly biased and unjust and is primarily archaic in its framework and aspirations. Such a concept of education no doubt stands to be against the democratic norms and tends to favor only the privileged and the rich. It miserably failed to make way for the people who did not meet its requirements and conditions. In a sane and civil society, there cannot be any place for the dominance of such an elitist notion of education. Hence, if on one side, the traditional education system has been an instrument of abundance and prosperity for a dominant majority; on the other side it has further deteriorated the vicious spiral of poverty and ignorance for the already deprived sections of the society. Its main objective has been to retain the social status quo. There is no denying the fact that there exist many segments of the society which have special educational needs that cannot be fulfilled via the traditional education system. With an unprecedented rise in the teen birth rates and the divorce rate, the proportion of the single parents in the society has exponentially increased. Such parents being bound by the responsibility of child rearing do not have the time to affiliate to the conventional education system. There exist many talented though poor students who simply do not afford an education. The same stands true for the ethnic minorities who are especially susceptible to the biases and lacunas inherent in the conventional education system. Then there exist people with the learning disabilities and the physically challenged people who stand to be a misfit in the ultra competitive traditional education system. An overall development of the society ardently needs a mode of education that is holistic and all encompassing in its scope. Online education is the academic option that does away with the deficiencies marring the conventional education system. It is an approach towards education that is catholic and democratic in its moorings. In the realm of social justice, online education is a great equalizer. For the first time in the history of human civilization, technology has made it possible to do away with the biases and prejudices shadowing the education system. Online education is an approach towards education that defies all barriers of social status, gender, ethnicity, physical ability, cognitive ability, etc. The biggest advantage with the online education is that it gives the sidelined and the underprivileged sections of the society the virtual space where they can pursue their academic goals, while safeguarding their distinct though sometimes vulnerable personal identity. It is a student centric approach towards education that is pliable and adaptive and gives every student a chance to pursue education as per one’s abilities and resources. It does not require a student to be present at a particular place at a particular time. It also does not require a student to academically perform as per some straight jacketed standards and limitations of time and space. Thus online education has once and for all shattered the hegemony of the traditional education system. One cannot say that online education will totally replace the conventional education system. However, it will be quiet safe to claim that online education has enabled the academically vulnerable social segments like the single parents, the poor, ethnic minorities, physically challenged individuals, etc. to play a vital role in the national academic framework. Online education is a mode of instruction that is distinctly democratic in its scope and ramifications. Sincerely, Name of the Student. Total Words: 1,004 Read More