Are the words qualified and educated synonymous?

Dear Editor, Many persons have expressed surprise and dismay when it was revealed that at least one of the youths who attempted an armed robbery at the Republic Bank, was “well educated”. But the question is, was he really educated? A student may be qualified in certain academic subject areas and will have a certificate to prove this. Again, a person may graduate from a university and receive a degree which makes him/her qualified to secure employment compatible with their degree. But does it follow that a person who is qualified is automatically a person who is educated? Are the words qualified and educated necessarily and inevitably synonymous? We have to retreat and ask ourselves, what does education mean? Also, more importantly, what are the functions and objectives of any education system?

The Rev Martin Luther King Jr gives us some insight from his wisdom: “I often wonder whether or not our education is fulfilling its purpose. A great majority of the so-called educated people do not think logically and scientifically. To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal and the facts from the fiction. The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason but with no morals. We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character ‒ that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration but also worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.” (The Words Of Martin Luther King Jr/Selected by Coretta Scott King)

Yours faithfully, Lloyd H Marshall