By Ubaydullah Abdulmalik
When an average youth from a developing country is fooled into believing that schooling is a scam because degrees do not guarantee employment, there is little that can be done to help such a person. There is hardly a day that I scroll through social media pages without stumbling over multiple posts that discredit the relevance of schooling and tertiary education. This argument continues to generate debates on whether it is worth it to go to school and acquire degrees, in a society where degree holders and degreeless people “hustle” equally for survival.
So is schooling a scam? Well, I will start with a quote from Michelle Obama, she said and I quote; “The ability to read, write and analyze; the confidence to stand up and demand justice and equality; the qualifications and connections to get your foot in the door and take your seat at the table – all of that start with education.” – Michelle Obama
It is gradually becoming a prevalent notion within our society that degrees and advanced formal education have limited relevance in the 21st century, and this is only because they don’t guarantee jobs to those who pursue or acquire them. No one says a college degree is the only path to success in life, but honestly, how could schooling be considered a waste of time?
Primarily, based on the misconception that people go to school and graduate to get employed, this reprehensible fallacy is gaining more ground in the midst of our youths and students. Phrases like “school na scam,” “who degree epp,” and “this useless course” among others, are trademarks of this idea. it is an undeniable fact that unemployment is at an all-time high state and that in today’s society, degrees and other qualifications may not guarantee employment, let alone job security for individuals, but this does not render degrees useless or schooling a waste of time. Because many do not understand the real essence of education, they stand to benefit the least from it – a lot go through schools only to leave a little different than they arrived.
Time has changed and even though college degrees largely guaranteed an employment in the past, that doesn’t hold anymore today. With the rapid rise of technological innovations, artificial intelligence and automation, concerns about unemployment continue to grow globally.
In my own opinion, this only reflects the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of societies and human interactions. The nature and standard of education in the past befitted the market requirements, socio-economic realities and technological advancement of those people, then.
Education has constantly evolved with societies and human behavior, and as such, we must continuously align the standards of our educational system with the dynamic needs and challenges of the present era. But this is difficult to fathom for some people. Instead of asking why a degree or some other form of formal education may not easily guarantee or get one a job in today’s society, a lot are trying to dismiss the relevance of tertiary education as a whole. This is completely wrong.
This is one out of many disheartening posts and conversations that happen daily on social media. The gullible among youths and students are glaringly made to believe this, because of obvious reasons, that education no longer holds much relevance in today’s society. And it is a very big fat lie! I don’t subscribe to the conspiracy theories questioning the motives behind our contemporary educational system. I do believe, however, that certain errors need to be corrected in our educational system, especially our mindset, regarding the purpose of education.
There’s this general misconception or conditioning that we all grow up with; since childhood, we are made to believe that we go through school and obtain education (the 6-3-3-4 system) to ultimately seek a job, a notion that is wrong in its entirety. When people grow up to learn the hard truths, some misunderstand it all and they begin to question the relevance of education.
A change in mindset and orientation would solve it all. The upcoming generation must come to understand that the end goal of education is not solely employment. Of course employment is a major factor after acquiring education; and gainful employment is expected of anyone with “sound education”, however, employment is never the primary purpose of education.
Education is meant to train individuals and to equip them with the requisite skills needed to thrive in any environment and live a meaningful life. Education is meant to broaden horizons, sparking innovations and producing problem-solvers that would champion the emancipation and advancement of societies.
As Kofi Annan puts it: “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” Education has always been and will always remain the golden key to success. It depends however on one’s perception of what education is.
Most often, we only think of the superficial value of things and never care to reflect deeply on the real essence of education. 1000 years ago, no one went to school to get degrees and universities as we know them today, did not exist. Even so, the people of those ages had their forms of education and learning systems, be they formal or informal. Similarly, universities as we know them today, may not exist in the next two or three centuries, but the essence of education will persist in accordance with the context of that era. This is because education is boundless and timeless.
Ubaydullah Abdulmalik is an undergraduate student from Bayero University, Kano. He is a passionate advocate for quality education and digital literacy in today’s society. He can be reached via; ubaydulmalik530@gmail.com