Education is often spoken of as a universal good. It is assumed to be inherently beneficial, morally neutral, and essential to progress. As a result, its purposes are rarely examined with care. We debate methods, outcomes, and reforms, but seldom pause to ask a more basic question: What is education for?
Series I begins with this question—not as a philosophical exercise, but as a practical one. Because when purpose remains unclear or unexamined, even well-intentioned systems can drift far from what they were meant to serve.
Over time, education has come to be defined less by learning and more by delivery. Institutions are designed around efficiency, scalability, and measurement. Success is translated into metrics. Learning is broken into subjects, outcomes, and credentials. In this process, education slowly detaches from life itself.
This series steps aside from identifying pitfalls or assigning fault. Rather, it explores a systemic misalignment that has unfolded gradually—shaped by economic pressures, administrative logic, and inherited assumptions about growth, productivity, and success.