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Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.

Nelson Mandela#50

DevelopmentEducationOpportunitySkillsWork

About this quote

What does it mean?
Education enables social mobility by allowing people to rise beyond their given circumstances.
In plain terms
Education lets people rise from humble origins to great positions.
What can you take from it?
Use education to rise beyond your given circumstances.

Where it applies

  • policy planning
  • career counseling
  • community grants

Putting it to work

  • fund scholarships
  • teach skills
  • remove barriers

Questions to consider

  • How can we make education accessible for all?
  • What limits social mobility today?

Another view

Education alone cannot fix structural barriers like poverty or bias.

More from Nelson Mandela

  1. No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to…

    Permalink to quote #49
  2. A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

    Permalink to quote #51
  3. Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the …

    Permalink to quote #48

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