The current system of education came into being at the turn of the 19th century to meet the needs of industrialism. Over the last one hundred years, the world has evolved significantly.
The world population increased from 1.65 in 1990 to approx 6.8 billion currently and is expected to increase to over 9 billion by 2040. UNESCO projects that, in the next 30 years, worldwide more people will be graduating through than since the beginning of history putting significant pressures on our education systems. “Academic Inflation” is already widely prevalent, more so in developing countries with large populations, which results in a decline in the value of a academic degree that a person holds.
Additionally, in the last few decades, global economies have become much interconnected due to an exponential growth in global trade, increased interdependence of financial markets and greater mobility of workforce. The complexity of interaction between global participants has contributed to the need for developing a global/universal outlook to education.
We at the Art of Learning believe that there is an urgent need to enhance the scope and structure of education. Modern education needs to be more dynamic and creative in developing and nurturing the infinite capacities of children. The task of education is to educate the whole being of the learners and should equip them with all the tools available to face the future – a future that is largely unknown to us. And at the same time, it should validate and respect that each child is an individual in the present with a need for self-actualisation in a rapidly changing world.
