The aforementioned statement and topic of this article has been a chorus in the lips of many young Nigerians. The degeneration of regard for institutional education in this country has eaten deep into the minds of our youth. You see people rattling about how graduating with a first class doesn't mean anything. In fact, many say that most first class students end up working for third class students, and even worse, for uneducated people, all in the bid to disdain and discredit the noble feat of graduating with academic distinction.
First of all, if you follow the crowd with this mentality that belittles academic brilliance.
I see a bad culture germinating amongst Nigerian youths. Some quack motivational speakers have made us believe that the less academically intelligent you are, the better you are outside school than the book smart fellow. They give examples of Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates; of how they dropped out of school and still amounted to something magnificent in life.
Of no doubt, it is possible to be successful in life without school education, but that doesn't totally out rule the advantages of going to school and making good grades.
Again, I'll like to put it translucent to you all: Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates weren't dumb in school!
For God's sake!
That's by the way.
The thrust of this piece is to debunk the lies that graduating with a first class doesn't matter.
Hello friends, it does matter!
Most times, these messages are preached by folks who never graduated with good grades. You will hardly see someone who worked his ass out to make good grades talk down on folks who come out with good grades.
Again, whatever worth doing is worth doing well. As much as they say certificate doesn't matter, that opinion is highly subjective, but on a general sphere, certificate authenticates your level of distinction, and for a sane mind, more than being smart and having folks acknowledge you're brilliant, work to have that ‘brilliant you’ on paper.
Certificate might not be a thorough measurement of intelligence, but work hard to make it reflect at least 70% of your brilliance.
Enough of all this stupid mantra.
All graduates are not equal! Yes!
A first class student is finest of them all. This is why many organizations and companies reserve certain vacancies for distinction graduates. No amount of preaching can change this fact.
This doesn't work only in Nigeria. I have a friend who've been denied scholarship overseas many times because she didn't make a first class upper, not even a second class lower. She advised me to work hard to graduate with a first class. It open doors. It gives one prestige and other advantages.
Again, because a first class graduate ends up working for a third class graduate doesn't in any way belittle his academic excellence. We must stop associating inventing a company with success and working under someone as a failure. Those are stupid motivational lies. Yes, I encourage folks to start up something, but not everyone will own a company, not every one will be Mark Zuckerberg, some people's dream is to do a certain job, and it's fine and doesn't make them less entrepreneurial.
Some employers pay their distinct staff according to their own bidding, all because they are too good at the job and they'd never want to lose them, at the end of the day, some employees earn better than some company owners. Yes!
So please, spare me this sick talk of “who first class epp”.
Cool, you insinuate that first class doesn't ‘epp’ anyone. So who ‘third class’ or just ‘pass’ epp?
First class doesn't guarantee success in life. I agree.
It is ‘third class’ that guarantees success?
Going to school doesn't guarantee success?
So not going to school guarantees success?
In the bid to sound inspirationally correct, we push these things to absurd boundaries.
We invariably encourage academic laziness and nonchalance. How will you be serious out there in life, if you think taking your studies serious is not important?
And please, there are many founders, inventors, and great men who were also very good and excellent academically and very smart and exceptional outside school, but we keep focusing on those we claim were dullards in school and were demigods outside school.
Why?
because we shy away from rewarding academic excellence in this country.
If you're reading this and you're an undergraduate. Do all you can to graduate with a first class. Graduate with distinction. It is a sign of hardwork and dedication to your studies.
Let this truth be said for once.

Your ranting changes nothing: A first class is just another "figure muncher "; they cannot function without already established knowledge(books). In today's society , people (especially employers )are in need of those who can think "outside the box"(creativity ), not inside the box .

Whatever you say, you're left.. to your own opinion

So because you don't have First Class, you now wrote this long epistle abiii.. I see