Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Is education still the key to success?

List Botswana’s Forbes five richest men, and at least three of them do not have a university degree. This raises the controversial question: is education really essential for us to succeed in life.

Dr Poloko Ntshwarang, senior Social Work lecturer at the University of Botswana says, “The common perception that going all the way through college and getting a good payment package from a big company is now proving to be an old way of thinking. This is why the unemployment level is on the rise even for graduates. In the past, a lot of people have dropped out of school to follow an unconventional idea of success, to work on their passions, and they became hugely successful. These people chose to educate themselves informally to reach their goals and they eventually found success and happiness. A lot of the times we miss the real meaning of education. The real point of education is to make us aware of ourselves and the world around us. Once a person has realized what they want, they can educate themselves and acquire the necessary skills to reach the heights that they set for themselves.”

Despite that fact, many people believe a university degree is the blue pill to riches, in reality, education is not the solitary way to succeed. There are many A+ graduates out there who are on the streets cannot get a job. A good  number of students in college care more about grades than knowledge; some graduates having forgotten everything they ever learned. So there goes a college graduate with little knowledge and no skills. The focus of education now is a more adaptable based economy where creativity and the ability to adapt to various changes is the key to success. The world has become more interconnected than ever before, with the use of mass media, ideas, information widely spread throughout the world and easily obtainable.

Through education, people learn the skill to exhibit their opinions and make informed decisions in life with the knowledge acquired. People will acquire their own sets of solutions to problems using the resources they learnt and are able to creatively alter working attitudes and styles to suit the needs of the society. Education allows people to be exposed to new opportunities which serve as an essential stepping stone to success. It can help one break away from the poverty cycle. It provides some with suitable job prospects and essential skills in surviving the working world.

Dr Sophie Moagi, clinical psychologist says, “There was a time when graduating from college was an impressive feat that ensured access to abundant entry-level positions. Times have changed. Owing to a surplus of graduates and changing social attitudes, finishing college is no longer a guarantee of impressing employers. Worse yet, the price of attending college has been skyrocketing over the last few decades. As a result, many students take on crippling debt in the hopes they’ll be able to wipe it away with a high-salary position that may never come.”

Some argue that education is no longer the key to success. Many of the current methods of teaching provided by schools are inefficient. Textbooks and notes kind of education allows for less room for the growth of creativity and innovation.  Good character and attitude in the working environment also eventually outweighs education as it creates a friendly work-based environment. One is said to be worker-friendly when they are able to corporate well within a team A pleasant attitude and social skills also play an essential part in contributing to a person’s performance within a company. A more amicable person will be preferred over a person with poor working skills though he might have the qualifications for the job.

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