EDUCATION AS TRANSFORMATION: BEYOND RANKINGS, METRICS AND MARKET LOGIC

Education is meant to shape thoughtful,ethical, and socially responsible human beings, not just skilled workers. Yet today, many educational institutions are driven by rankings, data, and competition, often losing sight of their deeper purpose. When numbers matter more than people, learning becomes mechanical, relationships weaken, and human values fade. Accountability and efficiency are important, but they should never replace compassion, fairness, and integrity. True educational success lies in nurturing curiosity,dignity,and moral awareness while creating inclusion and supportive learning communities.By restoring balance between performance and humanity, education can once again inspire minds, strengthen character, and serve society with purpose and care.Education fundamentally aims at the pursuit of knowledge to cultivate better human beings.It further seeks to enable the application of knowledge for the collective well being of humankind.Ultimately,education serves to engage with the socio-cultural, economic, political, and religious dimensions of human life in a balanced and thoughtful manner, enhancing the quality of thought process and, consequently, the quality of life. If we ask ourselves honestly, does education in the present scenario truly serve these goals? Honestly speaking, it is difficult to defend the role being played by educational institutions in the present context. The notion of accountability, transparency, performance, economic viability, and sustainability have become the leading vectors of success in institutional context in the modern world of higher education. In conjunction with these, the insatiable drive of rising in ranking has continued to fuel the spirit of competition amongst the universities and colleges in the world.