LEARNING REIMAGINED
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Education "is to produce men and women resembling him (Prophet Muhammad s.a.w) as near as possible." (al-Attas)


The changing education scene

7/9/2024

 
The curriculum materials that most of us are familiar with would be those found in texts, workbooks, assessment books and exam papers. These are nationally produced materials that would reflect the goals of the education ministry and would usually be the work of qualified teachers and curriculum experts in the field. As such, they would also be catered for classroom use and national exams. 
Being aimed for the general student, they are affordable, concise and provide the necessary sources of information. These are supplemented by notes and supplementary exercises from teachers. Teachers also play an important role in imparting the knowledge in their own ways to successfully communicate the desired knowledge to the student. Curriculum materials are thus channelled through teachers for knowledge transfer. 
In the new age of information, curriculum materials and teachers are just two of many sources of information. While teachers continue to play an important role, the act of learning and studying has been greatly improved through the use of technology. In the past, one would be rather dependent on teachers and one's more intellectually endowed peers, in trying to study a certain subject should one find difficulty in grasping the concepts. 
However, today, if you have not paid attention in class and have no idea how to do a piece of homework you have many you can refer to online from Google to AIs like ChatGpt, Thus, in terms of the main business of schools- knowledge transfer- its monopoly is much reduced and for those not needing the other services that schools provide- for example, childcare, social network and structure- it has become less and less important for one to have to go to school. 
One can't deny the importance of teachers in providing the human touch to the pursuit of knowledge, but presently, if you aren't able to or would not like to attend an institution of learning for whatever reasons, teachers are available online from different corners of the world whether through online schools or individual tutors on online platforms. There is also, in some countries, the shadow economy of tuition centres. 
Economic reason would expect schools to be more sensitive to their consumers- parents' and students'- needs with the rise in competition. States however are able to monopolise education through legal means such as Compulsory Education and laws with regards to setting up and running schools, directly or indirectly. For example, a law on prohibition of registering local students within a school-going age bracket would deprive alternative private schools from having such students.
Non-residents, not part of the national education agenda, while possibly taxpayers, however are a market for private education. Countries trying to attract foreign investment and labour, may even provide incentives to encourage the set up of private international schools . Companies need labour and labour needs to send their children to schools. 
There may be no motivation for countries to allow alternative institutions to national schools, especially if they refuse to meet the conditions to be part of an oligopoly. How does one skirt around the scenario then? If you do not need to work, you can be that school your child needs. However, just like any private entities, the state can still prevent you from functioning as one or limit your role through legal means as a form of control for it to continue to exist as a monopoly of public education. It will be interesting to look at how parents, as the legal guardians of their children, are seen compared to commercial entities with regards to their rights to educate their children. 


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    A homeschooling mum who enjoys writing. This is where I share my thoughts and resources on learning..

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