We shall not cease from exploration
And at the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets: "Little Gridding"

When our Apporva was four, we faced the dilemma of all other parents in a similar situation: which school to choose for our son? Like most other families of the lower-middle class, all those fance pre-school in our part of the city were far too expensive for us. But we didn't want to put our child in school-bus at that early stage either. So we opted for a little known school in our own neighborhood where he completed three years of his pre-primary education. And then the worry re-surfaced again: now what?
Since Apoorva was now old enough to endure to and fro bus journeys, distance ceased to be a consideration. Concern for the quality of education was now the main criterion. We wanted him to come to terms with life in a fairly relaxed atmosphere. We wanted Apoorva to do well in studies, but we have never asked him to bother too much about it. We put more emphasis on learning to communicate than on competing to excel. More than an extraordinary person, we want our children to be responsible members of society. We keep telling them that being good is infinitely more important than being great.
The hunt for a proper school back then made me re-discover the twin cities of Kathmandu and Lalitpur. I don't want to name names, but there are schools on main thoroughfare where students have to get accustomed to the traffic noise. Then there are schools in alleyways where sunlight seldom filters. Apparently, there are no norms for children's schools in our country.
It's a literal free-for-all, it appears that running a school in Nepal is as easy as operating a convenience store. There may be reasons behind that, but I do not want to go into all that hers. Suffice it to say that I didn't wish to put my son in any school where I could reasonably afford to pay its fees. The schools that I liked were, well, too "good" for me-their rate-cards looked scary. i was getting desperate as admission season was about to end. It was then that a friend of mine suggested DAVSKVB, Jawalakhel.

Since, Archana - the better half of the first person plural in this article - is a student of education, we often discuss its importance at home. Why is it that education is so important for us while other living beings get on with their lives quite well without it? The answer to that riddle lies in this explanation by a noted thinker, "Homosapiens are supposed to be superior to other animals. Pursuits of an animal are nourishment, reproduction and sleep. Homo sapiens value self awareness, consciousness, language, artistic imagination, and technological innovation."
It's this distinction that make us crave learning, for it's difficult to realize 'self-awareness, consciousness, language, artistic imagination and technical innovation' without some kind of an education. The purpose of education is thus to be better at what we are, be a better human being. But all that begins only after the 3Rs. of education-reading writing and arithmetic-have been learnt. Without these basic skills, further learning isn't possible. But necessary as they are bases of education aren't quite sufficient by themselves. There is a need to build a lot more upon it.
If purpose of education is to transform a child into a responsible member of human race, its goals are to make her/him understand the inter-connecting, spiritualism or religion, but education must empower a person to make sense of this world and then go beyond it.
Objectives of education are relatively straightforward - it must teach a person how to survive in an interdependent society. Following from that, there is some merit in what a British thinker CEM Joad says should be the objectives of education.
It should enable a boy or girl to earn a living
It should equip him or her to play his or her
role as citizen in a democracy, and
It should enable him or her to develop all the latent powers and faculties of his/her nature and so enjoy a good life.
Any school system incorporates these aims of education in different stages. At the primary stage, the 3R skills dominates. At lower secondary level, students have to be introduced to the higher goals of their pursuit so that they tackle the objectives of education at higher secondary level with better appreciation of their role. I am not fully aware of the way students at higher levels are taught, but from what we hear from our children, their seniors have already learnt the basic lessons of social responsibility. That's an encouraging sign and needs to be encouraged in future.
Like most other parents of our generation, we are most concerned about the values that our children imbibe at school. We want our children to understand that mere information is no knowledge, and even acquisition of latest knowledge is no guarantee that wisdom has been gained, we wish our children discover the ancient ascetic spirit of simple living, high thinking on their own in a age when consumption is being equated with contentment. We would love to see Apoorva and Abha grow as responsible members of our society, fully aware of their rich cultural heritage, but confident enough to explore all others without prejudice.
The end of education should perhaps be morality, not the morality espoused by religious bigots, but spiritual morality defined by great German philosopher Immanuel Kant in his Critique of Practical reason, "Morality is not really the doctrine of how to make ourselves happy but of how we are worthy of happiness." It's the worthiness that the student must seek. Everything else flows out of it.
It's often said that change is the only constant of live. People change, so do institution. But positive change is seldom possible without conscious effort. However, such efforts must be without attachment. Lord Krishna enunciates this paradox of life in a famous verse of Bhagvadgita thus, "You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the result of activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty." Perhaps if we could teach our children the real meaning of this verse, this world would be a better place for all of us, and we all shall be worthier of being happy in it.