Sidelined Benefit

    Someone well known to me opted to quit school saying that there was no meaning in seeking formal education.  Unfortunately he is only 16 years old.   

My life span at the university sometimes makes me wonder whether what I pick in class adds value to my life yet majority of life’s lessons are in living life itself.  The education system has become wanting as students are trained to be job seekers rather than job creators.   Theory is hailed more than practical and experimental learning and the job market has been blamed to be biased especially when many competent people are competing for few resources.

With our curriculum designed ages ago dating back to colonial times, is it fitting for us to continue with this type of learning yet times are changing tremendously? Vocational education has been under-looked yet it proves promising and undoubtedly a major solution to the flooded formal white and blue collar occupations. How about a blend of both formal and vocational education? 

Surprisingly, many have the notion that vocational education is meant for book failures. This attitude has to change if we are to push for an industrialized Africa.