Do allow me to offer an insight to the topic.
Let's not despise the uneducated or the low educated ( whatever
that means - non PHD scholars are low educated as well?). Do
understand that any society in the world cannot afford to have
everyone a manager or an engineer, otherwise who will perform other
manual duties or below managerial roles?
Furthermore, there are many more complex social reasons why the
uneducated remain so, some of them being lack of opportunities,
lack of finances, lack of spaces in the Uni, late bloomers,
specifically talented, etc.
It would be an uneducated and unintelligent presumption to
attest solely that the uneducated are so because they are lazy or
wish to shortcut the path to riches ( if it even exist amongst the
educated, legally and ethically).
Education is of prime importance. There can be no denying this
fact. Without education, there would have been no progress and
evolution of mankind. But what being educated means today is a
corruption of the noble aims on the purpose of education!
Education began with the greeks and it was philosophy based -
even mathematics. It's purpose was to elevate the lives and minds
of the masses.
To draw even further back, it was religion - another form of
philosophy, that taught mankind the concept of words, law and
orders, right up to Jesuit priests evangelizing on pagan lands in
latter centuries.
The ultimate purpose of education was a philosophy to educate,
to meet the increasing specific needs of blossoming civilisations,
and to uplift lives of the common people.
Unfortunately, today in Singapore, education is a measure of
status that attempts to separate the educated into elites from the
uneducated or lower educated, and abused as another cheap
'get rich scheme' more commonly associated with the lower educated
masses, as evident in the huge number of bright minds being
attracted to banking and finance courses instead of engineering or
social work, or demanding to be paid anti-socially several times
over and above the salaries of the common masses instead of a
percentage slightly higher due to their responsibilities.
The lower educated cannot be blamed for being attracted to get
rich fast schemes, for they know not philosophy or possess
analytical skills of the educated, and only demand what they deemed
is right being living in an equal society with the highly several
times over-paid educated.
Thus it is the responsibility of the educated to help uplift the
lives of their fellow men with proper ways to seek equal or better
prosperity, live enriching lives, and not downtrod, treat them with
condescension or despise them, as some parents or potential
in-laws do.
There is more to life than just money, as many would have
realized by now through this financial crisis that wiped out
wealth, careers and jobs. What you amass today could be gone
tomorrow. When all else disappears, only your character remains, as
Ponzai Madoff and his clients found out.
Under Imperial China, the scholarship exams were of noble aims,
to enable bright young minds to help rule the country, but
unfortunately, as the pitchfork welding common folks realized, it
only enabled bright minded young elites of every single dynasty
throughout China's history, to practice corruption, cronyism and
favoritism
Character is something that can only be build
up natuarally, cultivated through continual learning of diverse
subjects, or put through the fire under adverse situations, and not
obtained through any specific university degree. This is more important than education
or get rich schemes. Without good characteristic traits,
civilisation will end and revert back to barbarism - the law of the
jungle.
Myhumble plea to both sides is to end this debate on amicable
terms. We need each other and must never allow a gulf to separate
us all. We can listen to both sides and need not denigrate
anyone.
We are only flawed human beings after all, and no educated man
alive dare claims he know its all and is superior to others and
deem them stupid, nor can anyone untutored claim education had
regressed mankind.
Each and every single human individual has his/her special gift
or talent that can contribute towards a better egalitarian society
that is made up of you and me, our families and friends. from the
artistes, musicians and even a hardworking roadsweeper can
brighten up our lives.
Encouragements and hopes for a better tomorow together will
evolve us to the next plane of existance beyond the jungles.
