Recent developments among the youth especially in Nigeria, have shown the great surge for economic or pecuniary gains. This has raised some concerns. The economic situation of Nigeria has not made it any easier. Crime is on the climb; the educational system is thwarted by so many issues including strikes by unionists – which is a product of the inadequacies in the system. These occurrences have invalidated time after time the maxim “Education is the key to success” Many would argue rather that; “The Lock has been changed”, and this would make the key useless.
This crisis partly accounts for the high rate of dropouts in the country. While those in school have developed the mindset that School has little or nothing to offer, hence is a scam. Seeking success is a natural yearning. Yet, the composition of success and the means of attaining should be of great concern.
The youths are key assets to any society/community, they should be guarded jealously by stakeholders which include government, parents and everyone who lives within a community. This is because we will all be affected by their input in society as they are the most active class of society.
The basic form of Socialization is the family, the next form closely associated with the early phase of childhood is schooling. This is to provide the child with basic information, to be better placed in society. Beyond making money, this has made many of our students under utilize their time and resources provided to them within school. It is common to stage life in this phases;
BE BORN – GO TO SCHOOL – BE RICH (SUCCESSFUL)
Thus, when this doesn’t seem to match real life situations, then, one may be tempted to consider school a scam. This may further imply that we may have a rethink on why we really go to school. It is of some worth that we point out that school is not a money printing firm, nor is it an oracle that attracts riches to an individual who attends and graduates from a school.
Attending school with such a mindset is disastrous and only brings disappointment to the student and parent/guardian who may be the sponsor. When the proper use of commodities is not ascertained, abuse is inevitable. This seems to be the problem with many of us regarding schooling.
Aristotle states that man is born in a state referred to as “tabula raza” and that he only gets knowledge when taught (by experience). Socrates loved to refer to himself as an intellectual midwife – a role which teachers/lecturers occupy in various educational institutions of which is simply knowledge based. This gives a light to what ought to happen within the school. Knowledge is shared, impacted and acquired from teacher to student, student to student and self-discovery. School is simply a mind enlightening process that prepares you for the larger society. The knowledge gained from schooling irrespective of the discipline is to make the student better than he/she was prior to admission.
The economic development that we seek may be an end but schooling provides the platform for one to address the challenges of humanity hence becoming a change maker. This would also reflect the value level of the society when citizens can go to any length to accumulate wealth.
It can be said that no one problem solver is seeking a job placement because he/she should be earning from problem solving already. It could be understood that the labor market employs services rather than people. One is employed primarily because of the services that he/she can provide.
The time has come for us to have a rethink, ask basic questions like why do I attend a school? What do I need to learn? What do I do with what I learn? How can I monetize my knowledge? We talk so much about what school doesn't provide. What of its provisions? What of the network it provides one with? How many of us would have known how to read and write outside of school? Ever imagined yourself without this skill?
We should prioritize knowledge; this is why our value system will improve which in turn will improve our economy. Our nation’s improvement economically would mean our collective financial improvement. Great minds we admire today have either been schooled by themselves or have attained great education. There are exceptions but policies are made for the general people with consideration to the least advantaged.
The youth should save the day by seeking legitimate means of making money and things will improve for us all. ‘School no be scam’
Ejimchi Collins Peter-Dumbili
Chapter Leader
State of Youth Delta Chapter.
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