How modern education lost its soul to economics
By Yusuf Bulafu
For centuries, the fundamental promise of education was rooted in the concept of human flourishing. From the ancient philosophical academies to the liberal arts traditions of the Enlightenment, the classroom was viewed as a sacred space for the cultivation of the self.
The objective was to forge character, sharpen the intellect, and deepen the individual’s capacity for wisdom, empathy, and civic responsibility and not merely to transfer data.
Education was understood as an end in itself; a transformative process that elevated the human spirit and prepared one to navigate the complexities of a free society. It was a pursuit defined by the question: “Who am I becoming?”
However, in the modern era, this expansive horizon has been systematically dismantled. We are witnessing the financialization of the student experience, where the profound purpose of learning has been collapsed into a cold and utilitarian calculation.
Driven by the crushing weight of student debt, a precarious global economy, and a cultural hegemony that equates worth with wealth, education has been radically redefined as a transaction. Schools are no longer treated as incubators of potential but as factories for human capital, and degrees are marketed not as intellectual milestones, but as financial investment vehicles.
In this new paradigm, the guiding question has tragically shifted to: “What is my Return on Investment?”
When education is reduced to a pipeline for employment, we are throwing away the parts of the curriculum that make us human, simply because they don’t make us rich.
The humanities, arts, and abstract sciences are marginalized in favour of vocational training, creating a workforce that is technically proficient but philosophically impoverished. Furthermore, the definition of success has been homogenized into a shallow pursuit of status; high starting salaries, prestigious job titles, and material consumption.
This relentless pressure creates a culture of performance over curiosity, where students suffer from epidemic levels of anxiety, terrified that a single misstep will ruin their market value.
By reducing the student to an economic unit and learning to a path for monetary gain, we are failing to prepare individuals for the true challenges of life. We are creating efficient workers, but incomplete human beings.
To reverse this deterioration, we must urgently reject the commodification of the mind and reclaim the only purpose of education that can sustain a vibrant life and society: holistic and perpetual growth.
To be continued ….
