Is education really a scam?

The slang "Education is a scam" is a trend among many youths today because of the false orientation we have about education, we have been made to believe that education is the only path to success in the world which isn't true.

When I was younger, the idea was that immediately after you finish school, you will get a job and start living a fulfilled life. When I started understanding what life means, I stopped dreaming and studied with the hope that it might help me become successful someday.

The false orientation we had as kids have made us place so many expectations on education, and doing below those expectations is not making education what we thought it is. A lot of people are losing interest in it daily and I don't blame anyone for it, my fiancee once said that she would have used her money to start a business instead of going to school because she couldn't get a job. Most of the interviews she walked into ends of with someone demanding more than the proper interview.

I think things would have been better if education wasn't made to look like a shortcut to success because it is not and aside from success not having a shortcut to it, education won't make the journey to success easier. It would play a huge impact, and make a difference in the journey, it might even give you an edge above others but still doesn't guarantee success.

The most annoying thing to me is how people feel like someone can't make it because they have low education or aren't educated at all, I have seen lots of uneducated people who are successful and it depends on how we define success.

In 2013, I worked in a printing press and was surprised to know that the owner of the company didn't go through tertiary education.

His family couldn't carry on with his education so he had to learn how to operate a printing machine after secondary school, he was good at it. He became an operator and started working as a contractor, his family supported him and that was all.

I know a family that spent everything they had to make sure their firstborn was educated so that he can support his younger ones, he graduated and served the country but didn't get a job.

He hunted for a job for over 2 years before he decided to go back to a skill he learned during secondary school, and today, he is one of the biggest cobblers I know. He builds shoes, sandals, and different kinds of footwear, he is comfortable taking care of his family today.

I didn't make those two stories to condemn education but the truth is that education has been overrated. Learning a skill doesn't guarantee success as well and I encourage the two at the same time because we don't know which one would be our passage to success. What worked for me doesn't mean it would work for you, no one is sure of the path that will lead them to success.

Regardless of what we think about education, its impact on every human can't be overlooked do we think many of us would be here if we are uneducated? We have learned one or two things that we are applying today as a writer.

The people I used their life as an illustration earlier, one had little education while the other is educated and its impact is visible on their business. The cobbler separated his workshop from the showroom, you will be wowed with the setup and they have attracted customers to him that don't mind if the footwear is expensive or not.

The basic purpose of education is acquiring knowledge, it can give you an opportunity and it is left for you to grab it. Earning crypto while writing is an opportunity, we wouldn't have been able to grab it if we can't read, write, and use proper grammar, punctuation, and others.

a lady came to the company where I worked in search of a sales promoter's job, the people employed for the job are usually young and they are secondary school graduates. She wasn't the only person that came, there were other young boys and girls of her age.

They were waiting patiently to be interviewed when one of the bosses there was struggling with Microsoft excel because his assistant wasn't around, he was too busy to sit in front of the screen that morning, and instead of him picking someone from the other staff to replace the PA that day, he went to ask the people waiting to be interviewed.

"Can anyone use Microsoft Office among you guys?" was the question he asked and the girl raised her hands.

He took her in, tested her, and told her what to do for the day. He tipped her well and because she came again the next day, he sent her to HR, and this girl got staffed. No one believed it, she was posted to the warehouse to compile documents and prepare waybills when the PA returned. She got the opportunity because of the knowledge she has acquired, she wasn't the only educated person among them but the knowledge she had was needed and that's opportunity.

Education can give opportunities and I wouldn't completely write it off, many people aren't practicing what they have studied in school but somehow they are applying some of the knowledge they have acquired then to what they are doing today.

For no reason should we deny children education, we must make them understand that it doesn't guarantee success when they are mature enough to understand it. It is left to us as parents to expose them to skills that can also bring opportunities as they progress in life.

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