https://penastory.com/2017/04/10/a-yoruba-girl-lost-in-translation-the-university-debate-oluwakorede-akinkuolie/

University, the third tier of education in our society, the most important part of your education actually, because we all know that your WAEC and NECO distinctions and credits are pointless if you don’t get a B.A or B.Sc with it. In fact, attempt to tell your parents you’re not writing JAMB or you don’t want to go to university, I dare you! Or better yet, if you are already in university say you want to drop out. You will get phone calls from relatives you didn’t even know you had, all trying to talk some sense into your “stupid” head *insert eye roll here*

How do I know what the result will be you ask? I tried it. And the result, maybe 50 phone calls, 10 sit down conversations and 2 arguments. Now I’m a 200 level student of Mass Communication. *sigh* Don’t get me wrong, it is an awesome experience and I’m getting a lot out of it but why do I need a degree to be successful and why are vocational schools so underfunded and stigmatized? We constantly complain about the rising number of unemployeed graduates in Nigeria but we frown upon them ditching the degree to learn a skill that could start an empire.

What is the obsession with the 8-5 for God’s sake? Do we really want to wake up in the next forty years bored with our jobs? I don’t know about you but I do not. Frankly speaking, my mind was not built for a mundane routine. So my question is why does a degree matter so much? I kinda got an answer to this recently, a friend basically blasted me for saying that after my B.Sc I was done with school. (Rude right?) Anyway his take was that the higher the qualification, the bigger the advantage you have over your competitors because you know more. (So by now, I’m sure you have figured out that I hate having to concede to someone else’s point, yes? If not then thank you for thinking that I am a sane and completely reasonable person)

So, I concede that point to him, the more you know the better you are, but I ask this in return. (See too stubborn for my own good… I need help *sigh*) Where was I? Oh yeah, my question… Why can’t we put some focus on the Polytechnics and Vocational schools? They still give you a degree right? And the issue we have here is the certificate right? So why is the Almighty Bachelor’s degree so essential to the survival of our society? I mean by the logic of just get a degree, a HND or (Wait what do you get from a vocational school? I should look that up.) Anyway that should be enough right? Oh it’s not? Wait so is this another pride thing? *narrows eyes* Kinda like being able to say my child is a doctor, lawyer or engineer?

Speaking of professions, why do I have to have a white collar job? And please do not say job security because I can give you a long list of people with a degree that don’t have a job in the field of their darling degree. What do they do then you ask, some of them (smart people or just impatient like me) learn a trade and Behind it up, BOOM means of income and what didn’t help them? Yes, yes that piece of paper they spent four or more years in a university trying to get. The others keep looking until they find something. And frankly, I dabb for them cause I can’t imagine the amount of patience that would take.

In conclusion, please, please and pretty please with a cherry on top, do not belittle other forms of education because going to a university is not the only way to ensure that you will have a good life. Also I’m not saying drop out or rebel against the system oh before someone tracks me down just to say Koreey advised them to drop out. I’ll deny you quicker than Peter denied Jesus bruh no jokes. I’m just giving my own two cents that’s all. Hopefully in years to come our culture will be over the hype of university (I probably shouldn’t hold my breath on that though right?) Anyway, back to my confusing culture I go cause I could have sworn one of my aunts mentioned marriage to me earlier, so I have to go figure out what that was supposed to mean. *sigh* Wish me luck.

~Koreey.

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