School na scam?
I heard a lot of ‘School na Scam’ talk run around my graduating circle, and it troubled me.
The mantra became one that stayed, warping the minds of young, unsuspecting children into the age-old debate of “Shall I or shall I not go to university?”
“Is it really worth the hype, or will I just be wasting my time and money?”
It hurts even more that this chant is often pioneered by those who have not just seen the walls of a higher education institute but have also graduated with merit and honors.
So, then, I ask, where lies the hope for those yet to come?
I understand the frustrations surrounding the thought “school na scam”. The endless hopelessness and joblessness of graduates in a country that seemed to have left them behind. The ever-piling heaps of bills and responsibilities with no end or solution in sight. Yes, I understand the anger, but is that enough to write off an important, if not the most important, step into adulthood? How is the period of self-reliance supposed to begin when the key ingredient is missing?
A university or higher education degree opens doors that one can only dream of. How is one to get that desired job or be elevated to the status of import without at least a first degree?
Sure, the Nigerian federal school system is messed up ten ways to Sunday, but it is not enough to give up. I personally spent six years doing a four-year course because of a system that valued money and political power over the education of its children. However, I would never be a party to the “school na scam” movement because it really is not.
Some might say, “Well, I’ve got talent, I’ll just go and develop that” Sure that’s a way to go, and it’s always a good thing to develop the raw material deposited in you, but talent is nothing without structure and direction, and that’s what good education gives.
Some might ask, what if none of the regular education institutions work for me? Well, I believe that’s where specialty schools like the School of Technology and the School of Business come in. You get the benefit of formal education channeled into a skill.
Finally, some food for thought.
The celebrities and idols of our society that we look up to have some structure added to the talent they so effortlessly exhibit. From music maestro Davido to comedic influencer Josh2Funny to the recent world record holder, Hilda Baci. They all had some sort of higher education which is why you would never find them campaigning for the ‘School na Scam’ movement.
Remember, sometimes talent is just not enough. In the real world, you need the extra that education brings.
So don’t say school is a scam just because you have so much pride in talent that you forget you need sense and structure to back it up. After all,
Nigeria has her godfather
Celebrities have their managers
And you have your parents, who went to school or wished they had gone. And hopefully, for you, your education stands solidly behind your talent.
Appreciate it because school is NOT a scam.
