‘School na scam!’ is a common online phrase these days, especially among Nigerian youths. Ask them what they mean, they will tell you that the whole hype about education being the foundation for a productive and profitable future is all lies – that all the talk about schooling being the gate pass to a life of comfort are all made up. This week on WhatsApp Conversation, we discuss whether education, education in Nigeria particular, is a scam or not.
Opeyemi Ayodeji
School is not a scam, the structure is ineffective and outdated quite alright. But the idea isn’t totally bad. Most of us met amazing people in school. It is an environment that spurs you to know what and who you want to be while presenting to you multiple personalities
Keem Tunde
No.
Because I am aware that education doesn’t end within the four walls of a class or institution. Another reason is that education is not all that is shoved down your throat by a lecturer.
Francis Tinuala
At a point while schooling, I’ve thought it was a scam.
But leaving school I see reasons why it isn’t a scam. I know people say grace is the most important, it’s about who you know but It’s not always the case. Even people that you know need something to work on.
Personally, my education has not been a scam. I’m putting what I’ve learnt to use. Working under pressure, thinking outside the box, going the extra mile.
Emmanuel Kayode
For me, I cannot say if school is a scam or not, while I tend towards the side of school not being a scam, we must talk about the system of education in the country. It is old, it is not applicable to the current world and that’s why a lot of students will see school as a scam. However, if we look at the other benefits attached to coming to school, they are still attainable.
Nigerian educational system will give you a slight edge over those who did not go to school at all. However, with the massive rate of unemployment, the question on a lot of minds is, why then go to school? If the educational system can be restructured to put a clear difference between those who are educated and those who are not. That is, school prepares them to a large extent to become needed specialists, we might be able to turn all the naysayers around.
Kelvin Odunlami
People talk a lot about the correlation between academic success and success after school. They claim academic feats rarely translate into success in life. They cite examples of first-class graduates working for third-class degree holders and wealthy stark illiterates employing brilliant professors and teachers. All of this seems to further justify the phrase that school is a scam. After all, if the narrative of schooling guaranteeing a great future is true, professors should be the richest people on earth and first-class graduates should probably be among those controlling the world’s wealth.
This is not true in itself. The schooling system is meant to equip its patron not in monetary form necessarily but in terms of knowledge, first off. What is done with that knowledge is the difference. Yes, the Nigerian educational system is not exactly at the top of its game but it does not change the fact that badmouthing it would do the job too.
Kayode Junior
Education in Nigeria is never a scam. The reason why people think it’s a scam is that they feel its only importance is to provide a (9-5) job which it has failed to do in this nation. Education goes beyond giving you a job, it gives you an edge because you’ll meet people, network, discover new ideas and get updated. This edge gives you opportunity or opportunities to explore and look beyond only focusing on getting a job. This opportunity creates a platform for anyone to transform into anything they want and this transformation gives you life.
Tosin Awoniyi
No, I have never had a reason to consider Nigerian education a scam because one has to have a good understanding of language; how can one understand the current events without knowledge of the past? Studies have shown that well-educated societies have a lower rate of violence and crime. When one is educated, one can grow up to be anything one chooses to be, but If one ditch school and take it as a joke, one won’t learn anything and one can be on the street begging for money.
Education is important for developing paramount social and communication skills which are the success skills. The knowledge learned in school plays a major role in people’s daily lives.
More so, education provides opportunity; education provides an opportunity in the sense that; when one is educated, there is a tendency that one could meet someone that might be of help to someone in securing a better job.
Next week, we get futuristic with a question that cast a probing look at the future: “What do you think the world will look like in 300 years?” To be part of the next edition, send your response to 08133601345 on WhatsApp.
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