What is education for?

This episode of Moral Maze explores the fundamental question: what is education for? With over 4,000 university courses in the UK—especially in the humanities, arts, and philosophy—being cut due to economic pressures, the panel debates whether education should be valued for its intrinsic moral and intellectual worth or solely for its extrinsic economic returns. The discussion unfolds across three key dimensions: the tension between education as a public good versus a market-driven training tool, the equity of access across class, gender, and neurodiversity, and the moral purpose of cultivating human flourishing. Witnesses including economist Maxwell Marlow, philosopher Julian Borgini, scientist Dr. Jess Wade, and autistic educator Chris Bonello challenge the dominant narrative that measures education by job outcomes. They argue that society risks losing essential humanistic values, diversity of thought, and inclusive learning environments if education becomes purely instrumental. The episode concludes with a poignant reflection on how the current system often fails marginalized voices—whether women in STEM, neurodivergent students, or those from underprivileged backgrounds—while raising urgent questions about how we can fund and design an education system that serves all people, not just the economically productive.