Let's face it. Privatization of education has progressed rapidly, making quality education a distinguishing element among Indians. Despite implementing many policies at all levels of education, the Indian education governing system continues to struggle to provide basic educational demands.

What criteria do we use to determine whether someone is well-educated? Is this a degree? Is it the knowledge of that particular subject? Or is it information? It's difficult to discern since, in the Global Era of Education Privatization, not everyone is eligible to receive a basic education, let alone pay costly college tuition.

When it comes to social, political, and economic developments in the country, our media relies on so-called educated professionals in the field, politicians, and even bureaucrats to remark on or analyze those events. But how do we consider that these so-called people are well educated simply because of their area of expertise? The question here is whether these so-called experts are truly well educated or are they simply formally trained to be well informed about that subject, and are PR trained to handle the situation. We just never know.

The barring factor, according to many theories, the difference between well-informed and well-educated is mostly determined by three primary factors:

  1. Mastering interpersonal skills.

  2. Knowledge and subject expertise.

  3. Output and outcome.

Let us look at the recent Bengal Horror Rape Incident in India:

What happened at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in West Bengal, Kolkata, with the 31-year-old on-duty female resident doctor was terrifying, shaking the very roots of humanity and the medical sector.

The 31-year-old was viciously raped and murdered, and her body was discovered on the grounds early on August 8th. The accused was a civic police volunteer with a history of domestic abuse and three divorce cases.

I mean, how can someone from those charges be eligible for the role of civic police volunteer when they have no prior experience or education to qualify for the position?

Whom do we blame? What about the system? What about the government? What about the bureaucracy?

To respond to this scenario, we raise the same educational ideology. The guy who was appointed as a civic police volunteer to Kolkata police, which comes under the jurisdiction of the police, where you will find well-educated and trained IPS Level officers, and the police are under the direct control of the state government, who consider themselves well educated and are in power because it is the people of this democratic country who vote for their leaders.

Who's to blame? Who among the police is well educated? Or the government, which possesses all of the necessary tools to run a state? The answer is you! It's Us! It is everyone who chooses to know everything while remaining mute.

We, the citizens of this democracy, should be well-informed and educated about who we vote for, why we vote, and the promises they make to us for our own good.

The concept of being well-informed is really a façade of knowing only the basic gist of the story, not the exact events that occurred.

The idea of education is very significant since it takes you closer to your topic knowledge. If everyone in the world decides to be just well-informed rather than well-educated, they may have diverse opinions and points of view, but a person with good subject knowledge and education is always more deserving of handling the situation well.

People can now access subject material with a single click on their smartphones, but education existed long before that. Education remains an essential tool in the age of AI.

Artificial intelligence will not replace you. Someone employing artificial intelligence is more likely to replace you.

And just like that, well-informed people may believe they have won the argument, but a well-educated man or woman is certain to lose the argument, but never lose the power of knowledge. Perhaps that's why they say the pen is mightier than the sword!

The world feeds on information and acts with facts, but who determines that these so-called models of truth, which act as a medium of information, are reliable? Whom do we blame during the crisis? The government? The media? Or ourselves?

The common denominator between a well-informed and well-educated person is their ability to take and make decisions based on their intellect and presence of mind, and not what society or their peers want them to do!

The AI algorithms, information busters, and fake news amidst the chaos of vulnerabilities—one must rely on their intellect to safeguard themselves, to eventually save lives.

It is very easy to sit in the comfort of their homes and post a story showcasing angst and revolt, but what matters is to raise a flag of awareness and to take action to rectify the error and inform the people about the whereabouts of the incident and to act to not repeat the same mistake again.

Lastly, it is the right of every individual, barring their name, caste, or religion, to have their own freedom of speech and expression, but the next time you may want to use it, what must you rely upon? Your education, or your information?