ACADEMICS INFLATION Lately I began to think about it and I considered how life was then, back in the days over three decades ago when many mature youth of today were still in school and how life is now. So different. The corporate world, the social world, the economic environment, exposure, enlightenment, information, priorities, values and lifestyle. Things are very much different 30 years ago from how things are today. Then I started to think. When I was in school, the tutoring and training and education was mainly to equip us on how to cope and fit into the life of then, we were educated and trained in school to cope with how life was in the 80s, not as it is now because no teacher or academician saw this future or could teach this future. So I drew this conclusion, formal education does have its limits, in that it does not really prepare anyone adequately for tomorrow, it can only prepare students for the world as it is and as seen today - the corporate culture of today, social culture of today, economic landscape of today, science and technology as obtainable today – hmn, a today these students will never function within. There are millions of children in school today been taught daily on how to succeed in todays world based on todays civilisation. These students obviously are not likely to participate fully in todays civilisation. I do not think there is any school today, making adequately ready any student or pupil for the civilisation, the business and corporate world of 2025, 2035 or 2040, you know why, we have no clue and do not know how the world and life would be then. So academically we are actually spending so much money, resources and energy, preparing the next generation for the challenges of our generation and not their generation because we do not even know, neither can we correctly predict the challenges and requirements of their generation by, for example 2030. How would life really be in 2030, 2035? Who knows? What kind of academic syllabus can effectively prepare this younger generation for 2035? Who will put it together? Who can tell what life would be like in 2035? Hmmm Let me step back a bit to make this clearer, in the 80s, there wasnt much in school that taught us how to handle todays civilisation with social media and this information age. We didnt know much about computers especially in Nigeria, there was no Microsoft office; there was no google, there was no GSM. No text messages, no emails, no yahoo, Gmail and outlook. No blackberry, no skype, no power point, no digital or online education for anyone. No cable satellite televisions, no CNN, it was satellite dishes and very few people could afford it. No iPad, no CDs, it was cassettes players and tape recorders, dubbing sets, LPs and stereos. VHS Video recorders, Betamax videos and video cassettes. No YouTube, no websites, no Facebook, no twitter, no Whatsapp, no online sales or shopping, no private banks, no online banking, no cashless society, no I promise you, all many learnt in school in the 80s did not really equip much for todays world 35 years after. The world has changes completely. So the question is, is our academic world today preparing our young ones for the civilisation realities of the next 25 to 30 years? How are we, or can we prepare them for the realities of life in another 20 to 30 years? What are they learning today that were sure will apply effectively in fact 15 years from today? Hmmm. Theres a strong advocacy for education today. There is great pressure on the government to support the education sector. We ask they pump more funds into the sector. Everyone wants to send their children to school, its popular saying that education is the key to success. Many people, rich or poor, invest so much and make so much sacrifice to ensure their children go to school, study good courses and come out successful graduates. But is it not amazing that as obvious and as glaring as it is that education in actual fact is not the key to success we dont want to think otherwise or seek superior answers to good success? There are very many brilliant and educated unsuccessful people. They are struggling, confused, irrelevant, poor and non-achievers, yet they are educated-well read. Every day I come across educated and brilliant people who come for counselling on how to be successful despite their education and believe that with education, they cant be failures. Please dont misunderstand me, education is extremely important, it is something one cant do without in this dispensation, it is the foundation upon which every unlimited life and success is established but, education is not the key to success; its obvious. Beyond sending our children to school, I believe its time to actually review exactly how we claim we educate people and be sure we are truly equipping this next generation not just wasting resources and time on lessons that does not really amount to anything in tomorrows civilisation. What are we teaching in schools, what should we be really teaching, how should we actually be teaching that will in reality equip our children for the next 20 to 30 years? If almost 80% of what I was taught in school is not useful or relevant in my life today, it puts a big question mark on what we are really teaching and how we should be really teaching in my opinion. In todays world with focus on Nigeria as a nation particularly, I think if we consider the number of graduates in different fields churned out from our universities year after year, the supply appears to be superseding demand. We have more graduates that can be absorbed in the labour market; supply is much more than demand, consequently, the value placed on every graduate keeps declining. We have doctors everywhere, lawyers everywhere; engineers everywhere, professionals everywhere and there are very few opportunities for good employment; consequently they are grossly undervalued and underpaid because theyre easily replaceable. We are currently going through a season of academic inflation. Dear friend, being educated, certified, and knowledgeable is no longer a guarantee for good employment and good success. Studying a professional course in fact has brought about much frustration and dashed expectations for many graduates and professionals. Formal education is no longer enough for anyone with determination and ambition to excel in life. Academic equipping of today may not be of much use in maybe another 10, 15 or 20 years. Science, technology, inventions, innovations and overall global dynamics make it impossible. Also there is no longer a great future for professional certification and brilliance, the future now belongs to a mind with creative abilities. Creativity is the ability to think up answers and solution to challenges and problems irrespective of time and season. Creativity is our natural tendencies, innate abilities and normal equipment to solve problems based on intelligence, good thinking and reasoning. It is the ability to look at a problem and immediately engage the brain to fathom a way out or a way around the problem and challenge. Creativity is the basis for inventions, innovation, origination and revolution. Unfortunately, creative tendencies has been challenged by formal education. There has been a super imposition of how things are done and should be done and existing methods on our own individual and unique reasoning and solution mindedness. Academic knowledge is time bound, creativity however is eternal, forever relevant; not restricted by time, seasons, advancement, situations and even civilisation. As a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, an architect, an accountant no matter your profession, if you let go your creative tendencies and originality of thought and incline stronger towards academic knowledge, you may short change yourself in life. Creativity, creativity, creativity is the key for now and for tomorrow. Certificates, qualifications,knowledge and brilliance cant do it anymore, they dont last that long. Creativity is the in thing for now and tomorrow. Just take a look around you, every successful name and person you know has something unique and outstanding; uncommon to others in the same field of endeavour. Creative doctors are the successful ones, creative lawyers are the successful ones, creative architects are the successful ones, creative pharmacists are the successful ones, creative engineers are the successful ones, not the hard working ones not the brilliant ones; no, the creative ones. Creativity is what will stand you out from the rest, innovation, invention, originality, new ways of solving problems would make you successful today and tomorrow. No matter what you studied in school, no matter how brilliant you are, there are too many of your kind out there for you to be outstanding. Your originality and creativity is your differentiation, your branding, your winning hand, your enduring advantage. Formal education is good, literacy is good but creativity is the real key to success. Too many professionals and graduates are out there, the creative ones really own the future.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 06:07:11 +0000
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