Global megatrends and why education needs vision.....Studies have shown that it buys longer life expectancy; better health; improved quality of life over generations; better decision-making skills; improved personal status; higher lifetime average salaries; higher employment rates....Economies like China, India, South Korea and Singapore that are thriving today built their growth agenda on education.

by Grace VIRTUE  Tuesday, July 01, 2014 

The importance of education to human development, and, by extension, economic growth and prosperity, cannot be overstated. More people worldwide will climb out of poverty through education than the combined numbers who will do so through sports, entertainment, drug dealing, the lottery scam or fly-by-night business ventures.

BROWN… globalisation dictates that the nations that
 succeed will be those that bring out the best in people
and their potential

Higher education is particularly important. Studies have shown that it buys longer life expectancy; better health; improved quality of life over generations; better decision-making skills; improved personal status; higher lifetime average salaries; higher employment rates; greater job consistency; higher savings levels; and improved working conditions and mobility.

Overall, society benefits from higher contributions made by the educated population to tax revenues, greater productivity, higher consumption, less reliance on social welfare, reduced crime rates, greater ability to adapt to technology, more charitable giving, more social cohesion and greater appreciation of diversity.

Education is also the principal way in which the state passes on the norms, values and mores of a culture and builds social cohesion, which is critical to high-functioning societies. Eighteenth-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant argues that a good education is planned and it references humanity as a whole since good conduct, when understood at the level of principle, transfers across time and space. Education, which is well-planned, meets the needs of the society; education that is unplanned is defective and will fall short of societal needs, expectations and goals.

Beyond transmitting a society's values, a good education should unlock innovation and creativity, thereby advancing human development, economic growth and prosperity. Economies like China, India, South Korea and Singapore that are thriving today built their growth agenda on education. more