Education for conflict

RK Rajeebsana *

"Become a good person", advice the father to his son. It is not surprising that parent's want their children to become a good person. Force by the drive, of their desire to become their children a good person in their life; they spend all their earnings in life to their children's education. Both parents and children's have become a partner in education today.

Nowadays parents devote maximum period of time with their children in fulfilling their needs in education. From the very stage of infancy, when socialization begins for the first time, the very idea and conscience to be and to become a good person had been taught and have instill in the young minds like compelling and indoctrination.

But the point which we need to introspect and look at, is the very notion of good person that parents and the society conceive today is, in the purest and true sense of the term or something else. What is the definition of a good person today?

Karl Marx, in his overall doctrine of conflict theory admit that: during the primitive society, there was less interdependency as the society was simple and they used their immediate labor to satisfy their primary needs, viz ; food, clothes and shelter. So there was less chances of conflict. The human, being a dissatisfied social animal goes beyond the primary needs for more gratification, secondary and tertiary needs. The satisfaction of the older needs paved way for the new desire.

When primary needs have been met, this" leads to new needs". So, it is during this stage for fulfilling secondary needs and desire, human enter into a situation of conflict, just as a multiple hungry lion chasing after one dear for gratifying hunger. Then naturally, it is not surprising that the lions will fight after one another to get their prey, so as the human.

So it is clear that the world per se, is condition by matter, dependent on matter and predestined by matter. This very materialistic orientation to fulfill limitless desire is the base, the root and the origin of conflict. It is at this point that Marx proclaimed with great vigor that the first historical act of human is gathering food.

Bringing the very notion of good person as it is understood and conceive by the people and society today , it is this fulfillment of the materialistic pleasure and to join the race for fulfilling it, is the definition, perception and idea of a good person today. The person who can join this race in fulfilling materialistic pleasure is tag, as a "good person".

So, the parents and their socialization of their children from the very stage of infancy and their statement, "Become a good person" means, to become educationally intellectual to fulfill those needs, a wealthy person but not in the sense to become honest, a devotee of truth and straightforwardness, which must be the true essence of education.

In that way, parents and society today are indirectly encouraging and promoting conflict consciously or unconsciously, to run after the material needs, to enjoy a luxurious life and to join the race or competition to fulfill it. The very word competition can be treated synonymously with conflict. On the other hand, we shout for peace, make a slogan for harmony worldwide. We need not to criticize those positive and healthy competitions but unfortunately, the world today is moving more towards selfish competition.

When the educational value and socialization process, which is the very foundation and mainstay of society, went wrong somewhere and after being train and instill by those value and nature of education, at the end we talk of peace. Today's education is like watering the root to cause conflict, directly or indirectly. Vivekananda said," if you do not allow one to become a lion, he will become a fox, which is in tune with today's educational value.

We are in a world, where there is a recipe of conflict everywhere. The problems of irresponsibility, red-tapism of the employees at any government department are problem as old as hills.

Why the files in any of the government department are not moving, piling up months and years?, Why many profession today goes beyond their professionalism and salary to earn more? ,Why the government officials are not available during the office hour? It is because, we have lost everything that is called ethics and responsibility which are not of proper academics concerns.

If a government official is corrupt, it is not always the issue or failure of the social and political system. It is the issue and problem pertaining to the morality and ethics which are directly or indirectly affected by the way of social conditioning that she/he receive in entire socialization process.

Education today does not pay much attention on value such as , the question of morality, ethics, obligation and duty. It is value oriented, in the sense of material value but this material value does not teaches , how to respect peoples, and all life forms rather after achieving it , intellectual today become ego centric of their learning.

If any of the politician or government officials is corrupt, why do we need to address those issue at a systemic level? If a particular official is corrupt, that means she/he is against his professional ethics, which is a question pertaining to morality and ethics. This can be consider as a consequential effect of the kind of education being imparted in educational institute today.

There are many cooperate sector, multi-national companies after knowing the consequential effect of exploiting the natural resources , they are still hungry of more gratification and profits. If we look at the psychology and motive of those people, it is in no way wrong in saying that, those people are the product of the kind of educational value and training we have today , which make them limitless material hungry.

So, it is the time to change our value system ,our orientation towards education , our motive towards education. If not the material value itself will ultimately be detrimental to come to an end of human civilization and all life forms on the planet. We need such education that encourages more on ethical, moral and truthful life rather on inclining and training the minds to grow intellectually at material plane.