Role of economy in shaping aims of education

Education in every sense is one of the fundamental factors of development. Education raises people’s productivity and creativity and promotes entrepreneurship and technological advances. In addition it plays a very crucial role in securing economic and social progress and improving income distribution. Some advantages of education are: it boosts economic growth and increases the GDP of a country. It even reduces infant mortality rate, increases human life expectancy. Education is an important investment in a country as there are huge benefits.
Three factors can create economic growth: more capital, more labour, and better use of existing capital or labour. The growth that results from increases in capital and labour represents growth due to increases in inputs. Education enriches people’s understanding of themselves and world. It improves the quality of their lives and leads to broad social benefits to individuals and society. In addition it plays a very crucial role in securing economic and social progress and improving income distribution.
Statistics Analysis in Educational Planning: The economic resources of a country are naturally of a decisive importance in all educational planning. They are therefore extremely important for the integration of educational planning into an overall economic planning of a country.
A particular conception of education is developed, which involves a significant vocational aspect, with two aims: individual fulfilment through employment and social well-being through economic prosperity.
It’s to improve the value of labour. Even someone whose responsibilities include nothing more than sweeping a warehouse floor will be improved by literacy (e.g., in reading instructions on how to use cleaning products, etc.) and the ability to communicate (e.g., in training others).But, more generally, from the perspective of “competition”, it reduces the cost of goods and services because there will be more people (e.g., millwrights, stone masons, architects, doctors, roofers, etc.) able to satisfy the demand for goods and services.
In a capitalist economy, the education will have as one of its aims the supply of qualified workers in specific areas that are demanding them.
We know that economy works toward resource allocation and at the capitalism system, work force is a resource. Then, we can conclude that education comes to qualify the work force and after the work force get some improvement (during 6-25 years old), the forces of supply and demand on the labor market and the values of each person will determine where he/she will get a job: (1) It imparts skills for gainful employment and conduct business more efficiently; (2) It improves the capacity of brain to understand complexities of the real world; (3) It gives confidence to lead and thereby makes someone a leader; and finally; (4) It facilitates better understanding among peers to take advantage of group intelligence.
Economic aims of education are concerned with the individual and collective economic development. These aims are closely related with the social stability. The individual and collective development is connected with the acquisition of these aims. The experts hold the following economic aims of education:
Provision of skillful manpower: Provision of skillful manpower to the society is a significant economic aim of education. Acquisition of this aim can cause economic development and individual well-being. The skilled work force of a country plays a productive role in the economic development. Provision of competent and skilled men to the society is the primary responsibility of education. An education system trains the individuals in conformity with the needs of the country. These skilled, competent, and trained men do their best for the overall development of the country and thereby make it a stronger, flourishing and prosperous one.
Economic development: Education is directly linked with the individual and collective economic development and stability. Education enables an individual to participate in the productive economic activities and thereby promote his standard of living. When an individual’s standard of living is raised, he starts moving towards the individual economic growth and consequently collective economic development is ensured. Keeping in view the concern of economic development with education, this is the duty of the state to take necessary practical steps to educate and train the men of society so that economic backwardness may be eradicated.
Utilization of natural resources: The educationists hold that utilization of natural resources is one of the significant economic aims of education. This is the responsibility of education to enable the individuals to fully utilize the national natural resources. In this way, the Grand National Product will increase. No nation can utilize their natural resources without an organized system of education established for the individuals. Education produces such skilled and professionally trained individuals who are capable of utilizing the natural resources for national welfare and promotion.
Promotion of economic opportunities: Promotion of economic opportunities is also a significant. economic aim of education. The abundance in economic opportunities is closely linked with the abundance in employment opportunities. If there is no economic activity there is no possibility of employment. Education opens new ways of development and economic stability. The individuals get benefit of new economic opportunities and thereby strengthen their economic conditions by means of the process of education.
Increase in individual and national income: Every system of education intends to increase in individual and national income. A developed system of education opens new ways of economic development. Education enables an individual to cam his livelihood in accordance with his potentials and professional skills. In this way, his individual income increases. This very individual income causes an increase in the national income. The experts maintain that individual income is, in fact, a national income and economic stability of an individual is the economic stability of the society in reality. When an individual is economically stable, this is the economic stability of the society in general.
Rise in standard of living: Betterment in the standard of living is another economic aim of education of today. Education increases and develops those abilities of the individual with which he becomes able to participate in the productive economic activities. In this way, the individual income and the purchase power increase. Increase in purchase power brings about rise in the standard of living which enables the individuals lead a prosperous life.