On January 24th, the world celebrated Education Day. So did we. And why not? As going by the latest statistics, which state that India’s literacy rate is 77.7%, one can say that the drive to educate Indians has been successful to a certain extent.

Education is one of the benchmarks of a country’s progress, as it facilitates economic and social mobility. But its most critical role is to create a thriving society based on modern, progressive ideas. Overall, education propagates information, preserves traditions and social values and ushers in change by developing new ideas. But the real question is: how have we, as a people, used this education to progress, both as individuals and as a community? And, most importantly, what has been our learning so far?

Education and learning are two entirely different concepts. In that, education is just one aspect of learning. It is structured, conventional and limited in its scope, whereas learning can be unstructured, is unconventional and limitless. That said, the most crucial aspect of education and learning is what is being taught and what is being learnt and ingrained. That creates the basis of a society. And this is where reading becomes important. When seen in the context of society today, one can see a great mismatch between teaching and learning. Which means that we are getting educated but not necessarily becoming learned.

There are two apparent reasons for this: first, reading as a habit has taken a setback;........

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