By Wathsala Karunarathne and Dr. Ananda Wickramasinghe

With the evolving landscape of global education, traditional teaching methods are being re-evaluated and transformed. Education is no longer just about books and exams. In today’s rapidly changing landscape of modern education, the emphasis is predominantly on equipping students with knowledge and technical skills. While this focus is undoubtedly important, it is equally crucial to recognize and address the value-based dimension of education. Producing knowledgeable individuals but lacking core values poses significant challenges for both personal and societal development. Therefore, enriching the curriculum with core values is important, especially for developing countries like Sri Lanka’s education system.

What do we predominantly emphasize as the primary goal of education? Often, it is to produce knowledgeable individuals to compete with the complexities of the dynamic world.

But is knowledge alone, though essential, sufficient to witness a developed country, a sustainable nation? The answer is a resounding NO. Basic values such as, but not limited to, empathy, integrity, respect, professional behaviour, responsibility, and accountability form the foundation of ethical behaviour and meaningful contributions to society. A person with values builds a nation with values.

Hence, now it is questionable whether Sri Lanka is a nation with values.

Are Sri Lankans actively living out these values? It is certain that without these values, individuals may excel in academic or professional domains but fall short in fostering positive interpersonal relationships, engaging in responsible citizenship, and addressing ethical dilemmas.

Let’s look at some real issues we face when we ignore values in education.

Ethical and Moral Challenges: Individuals with extensive knowledge but lacking values may struggle with ethical decision-making. Professionals might excel in their fields yet make decisions that prioritize personal gain over the common good and the development of the country. For instance, who was behind the world-famous financial and audit scandals? Undoubtedly, many were caused by professionals who excelled in their technical field but had no ethical values. Their actions hurt entire communities and economies. Similarly, many organizations struggle with issues such as fraud, mismanagement, favouritism, and poor decision-making, not due to a lack of educated individuals, but due to a lack of integrity and responsibility among them.

Short-Term Gains Over Long-Term Impact: Merely focusing on knowledge from kindergartens can encourage a short-term, results-oriented mindset among individuals. This approach may prioritize immediate achievements and quick wins over long-term benefits. For example, a business that prioritizes quick profits by neglecting environmental regulations may boost its earnings and be lucrative temporarily, but certainly, it will result in a significant negative impact in the future.

Social Disconnect: An education system that emphasizes merely on knowledge without values can lead to a disconnect between individuals and the community. When empathy and respect are absent, it makes it difficult and challenging to build and maintain cohesive and supportive social networks all over the world.

So, what can we do?

To cultivate well-rounded individuals, education systems from kindergarten to higher education must adopt a more holistic approach that balances knowledge with values.

Here are a few simple steps that we can take to address this imbalance:

Integrating Values into the Curriculum: Education should include not only academic subjects but also courses on ethics, social responsibility, and emotional intelligence. By embedding these themes into the curriculum, students can learn to apply their knowledge in an ethically sound manner.

Modelling Ethical Behaviour: Revamping the curricula with values is not enough. Most importantly, educators and institutions must lead by example. Teachers, consultants, lecturers, and administrators in schools, universities, and all other educational institutions should demonstrate ethical behaviour and engage in practices that reflect the values they wish to instil in students.

Promoting Character Education: Especially the schools should implement character education programs that emphasize the development of core values. Activities such as community service, ethical debates, mentorship, and role model opportunities can reinforce these values. It prepares the students to become responsible, respectful, and caring citizens.

Encouraging Critical Reflection: Students should be encouraged to reflect critically on their actions and decisions. Discussions about real-world ethical dilemmas and societal issues can help them understand the importance of values in practical contexts.

Involving Families and Communities: Education does not occur in isolation. This can be implemented as a collaborative effort of teachers, parents, and community members to reinforce values and ensure that the principles taught at school are mirrored at home and in society.

Fostering a Supportive Environment: Creating a supportive and inclusive school environment is essential, where students feel valued and respected. This will help in developing their interpersonal skills and empathy. When students feel valued and respected, they are more likely to thrive both academically and socially. For instance, schools, universities, and all other educational institutions can encourage diversity and celebrate different cultures, use team-building activities and collaborative projects to strengthen connections, and ensure access to counselling and mental health resources.

Considering the above, focusing solely on producing knowledgeable individuals might be why some countries are still developing and far beyond the signs of a developed country. In an era with the replacement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in all aspects, knowledge is readily accessible at any time and anywhere.

The challenge is not just gaining information and knowledge but cultivating values. Unlike knowledge, values cannot be simply memorized. They should be practised from kindergarten education. While knowledge is one of the fundamental components of education, the cultivation of values is equally vital for a sustainable and thriving nation. A balanced approach that integrates both aspects will not only produce competent individuals but also responsible and empathetic citizens. By addressing the challenges associated with prioritizing knowledge over values, we can work towards an education system that truly prepares individuals to thrive both personally and professionally while contributing meaningfully and positively to the broader society.

-Wathsala Karunarathne is a Consultant/Lecturer in Accounting, Banking and Finance, National Institute of Business Management, Sri Lanka

–Dr. Ananda Wickramasinghe is Senior Lecturer,  School of Business, Faculty of Business & Law, University of Wollongong, Australia