The paradox of being 'educated' but unwise

We hope the Most Ven. Aggamahapanditha Kotugoda Dhammawasa Anunayake Thera's admonitions and advice which we front-paged yesterday would have the desired effect of prompting the adoption of measures on the part of the state to curb crime in this country. Rising crime is a prime concern of every right thinking person in this country and we earnestly hope that a serious and substantial effort will be made by all concerned, including the state and the citizen, to pull Sri Lanka out of the current morass of criminality.

No less a person than President Mahinda Rajapaksa has called for an all out effort on the part of all to stamp out the scourge of crime and this is a clear indication that the state is concerned about the crime situation and that it has realized its magnitude. We hope a concerted national effort would be made from now on to take on the challenge of crime head-on and see a lessening of its severity at least.

As we commented yesterday, crime is a complex phenomenon and one would be engaging in wishful thinking if the presumption is made that ready and simple answers would be forthcoming to the issue. Crime is a conundrum and, among other things, we would need 'out of the box' thinking if the problem is to be contained. Be that as it may, a pronouncement made by Ven. Kotugada Dhammawasa Thera to the effect that a notable proportion of local society comprises 'educated but unwise' persons needs to be reflected upon by all those concerned with Sri Lanka's contemporary questions.

On close reflection it could be found that a person could be educated, by the standards of the times, but not strictly speaking wise. The acquiring of worldly knowledge, by itself does not qualify one to be considered wise. The latter, among other things, refers to a profound awareness of the human condition and its complexities, besides the acquiring of emotional maturity.

An average secondary school and undergraduate education could lead one to a knowledge of objective reality but such knowledge would fall short of wisdom if it does not increase one's insight into the human condition. Gautama the Buddha, whose sacred name is indivisibly bound-up with the Vesak festival, which will be conducted today, in most parts of the world, was one such exceptional person who had a profound insight into the nature of reality and by virtue of this knowledge qualified to be seen as supremely wise.

However, the rising crime rate suggests that many of our citizens who are considered knowledgeable are not necessarily wise. This assumption gains its validity from the often heard assertion by our educational authorities in particular that the majority of our citizenry is 'literate' to some degree. However, considering the rise in wrong-doing, one could assert that an average education in this country does not necessarily translate into wisdom and virtuous living.

This realization should not take one by surprise. For, an overwhelming dependence on tuition and extra help in one's educational pursuits on the part of many of our primary and secondary students, does not really predispose the student to acquire emotional maturity, whose cumulative result is insight into life and wisdom.

In fact, the highly competitive nature of the local educational process from Year One, besides leading to a high dependence on tuition classes and the like, makes the average student self-centred and needlessly acquisitive, provided he or she acquires a sound grounding in the timeless wisdom of our religions. If our educational process is from the start of a student's career intrinsically competitive, one cannot expect very many products of this system to be exceptionally magnanimous and selfless.

All this leads to a questioning of the effectiveness and advisability of a system of education that does not help much in the moulding of virtuous citizens. We need to question as to how the current system could be more value-based and productive of emotional maturity, which quality enables the student to inculcate virtue while acquiring worldly knowledge.