When it comes to furthering education, especially at this stage of the world we are in now, it always appears to me that I'm lost and not moving with the trend. However, my thoughts about it are still very firm in my heart.
Does this mean I'm not in support of education in this era? No, I'm very much in support of education, and in fact, I frown at the “education is a scam” talk because I know how deeply I have benefited from the knowledge I gained from school, even though I'm not officially employed as world culture has it — that one must be employed in a big company after school.
I have younger ones at home who stopped at the senior secondary school level and decided to go into learning a skill because, to them, school can be a waste of time if one doesn't get to make use of the acquired paper certificate at the end. I support skill acquisition a lot, but I still feel they should have a good experience of what school is all about.
Now, this is my point and it's my opinion. Acquiring a degree and going further to get a master’s is fine, but I'm of the opinion that one doesn't necessarily need all that far in school to achieve success.
Why?
The world right now, especially in my part of the world — Africa and Nigeria — shows that a certificate alone is not enough. What truly matters is what the graduate can do, or better still, what ideas the graduate can implement to earn a living. Although there are still places or companies where promotions or earnings are based on certificates and the knowledge of the person is not required, such situations are rare and not easy to come by for fresh graduates.
I'm of the opinion that just having the school experience is enough. One can simply earn the first basic certificate and be okay with it as long as they learn and groom themselves well. The “first basic certificate” here refers to qualifications like a Degree, NCE, OND, or HND. The masters is a NO. One can actually give life a good tackle if the knowledge gained from any of these levels is well implemented. The knowledge here doesn't only mean academic knowledge; it can also mean knowledge of how to be presentable, how to relate with people, and so on.
Truth be told, schools nowadays — and I believe it has been like that for ages — are more centered on giving out the paper certificate rather than truly inculcating the basic knowledge into the students’ lives, especially in higher institutions where the curriculum is filled with “irrelevant” courses that don't add value to life or to the field one is pursuing. The lecturers deliver lectures shabbily and call it “advanced,” because that cannot be the same as teaching because teaching is meant for teachers, while lecturing is meant for lecturers.
At the end of the day, it's the students’ extra input that makes one outstanding when it comes to being grounded in their field of study.
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry to Week 182, Edition 01 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community