Education divides rather than unites

“True education makes for inequality; the inequality of individuality, the inequality of success, the glorious inequality of talent, of genius,” the famous educator, Felix Schelling stated. Individuals of our society unintentionally receive different degrees of education indicates the class disparities amongst the public. Hence, education divides the society. Education divides the society rather than unites. This can be seen in developing nations where a middle-class family with low income have to send their children to schools. If families have many children and just one working parent, the parents cannot afford to send their children for studies as the child is an earning member from a young age. Therefore, this creates a difference in the mentality of the educated children and the uneducated ones, and as a result gives rise to feelings of aggression and resentment.

Education these days does not simply mean passing on knowledge. It provides concrete qualifications as certification of an individual’s progress that can be used for entry into institutes of higher education, or to secure a job. Some individuals fare better than others in terms of academics, setting the stage for a better chance in securing a high-paying job than those who do not fare as well. Education divides society because society places such a big importance on the individual’s performance while receiving an education. The more educated are given a priority than the lesser educated. Some may argue that it is the persons fault if he does not struggle to achieve enough education. What they do not realize is that only the rich can afford to get good education and therefore get better paid jobs, the lesser educated ones always end up with the low income jobs. Hence, “the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer”.

In the long run this leads to divisions within the society in terms of income and spending of families. It can be concluded that education divides society financially. It might help to remove injustice with effective governments that handle good payment systems. This problem will remain in the society until and unless steps are taken to get rid of these obstacles to a unified society.