Why it is crucial to rethink the aim of higher learning

Kenya Methodist University Chancellor Rev Joseph Ntombura awards a graduant during a previous graduation ceremony. [File, Standard]

Most philosophers of education or philosophically inclined scholars of education in the past century and a half would agree with the claim that, ideally, education should be the practice of freedom. That is, it ought to cultivate the ability to intelligently decide how we want to shape our lives. The aim of education should be to foster human autonomy.

I'm thinking here of a diverse array of scholars. Among them are some of the most influential philosophers of education and educational theorists of the 20th century: the American John Dewey, Brazilian Paulo Freire and Indian Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Yet there's little evidence that their views have played any significant role in shaping the global contemporary education sector, including the tertiary sector. If these scholars are correct, universities and educational institutions too often don't understand what they are doing. It's a shocking indictment on the higher education sector. After all, educational institutions are in the business (or should be) of fostering understanding.