The conceptual framework and ideology of the modern state that emerged through the Treaty of Westphalia had a profound effect on education, its institutions and systems which in turn influenced the dynamics of the social, political and economic spheres of a given society. Education is neither a value-free activity nor a value-free process. It is value laden and stands to mould human behavior, human response to the world and shapes the discourses of society towards an intended direction. It is therefore no wonder that colonial powers in their pursuit for power and expansionism imposed their own colonial forms of education and institutions which were used as tools of oppression; one from which one time colonized nations continue to suffer from.
For the most part, education the way it stands today in the ‘South’ continues to be a central element through which the State and the powers that be pursue its agenda in maintaining status quo. Formal Education in the ‘South’ contributes little to the overall development of a society though it has raised levels of competitiveness amongst students. One of the fundamental reasons is that education is broadly determined by government which in turn is deeply influenced by big business who set the policies and guidelines. Both governments and the Multinational co-operations expect schools to produce hard working technocrats and bureaucrats who should be creative but at the same time obedient to those in power.
Very often education becomes a tool for those in power and authority. This is more so in situations where there is conflict between State and People and so often it is the power relations that alter the course of policies. After the end of the cold war, it is now larger companies that have greater interests at stake in defining patterns of human behavior and response. Hence in spite of all the progression the modern world has contributed to humankind it has been at the expense of values and principles fundamental to human existence. This cleavage has largely been a consequence of the fact that the modern world negated the existence of indigenous peoples, their values, their knowledge system and their worldview based on a complex web of balanced interdependence.
Truly one needs to reflect whether what one calls modern is essentially modern or whether it remains predominantly globalism of westernization. Indeed the modern world has also strayed far from Aristotle’s philosophy that the pursuit of knowledge is realized through praxis of acquiring and upholding – always in the order of – Truth, Morality and Technique. Indeed the modern world no longer talks of truth – because in the modern world of individualism it is individual feelings that matter more than truth it self; it no longer upholds morality because it does not care anymore for morals, the modern world is only concerned in thriving upon technique and technology.
At the core of all historical processes, education and educational institutions has been a primary mover in shaping the discourse of human relation and the relationship between states, which in turn has reshaped the educational discourse. It has been a medium of both oppression and liberation; more so of oppression because of the close relationship between educational institutions and the powers that be. The recognition of the existence of this internal contradiction and power politics is essential in understanding the role of education in societal transformation.
