Echoes from the past
Growing up in the slums of Mbizo suburb in the Midlands city of KweKwe, I cherished education. I was so passionate about education because I had an illusion about education. People told me fantastic things about the importance of education. As a young person, I believed all of it without a second thought. I even ignored my neighbourhood colleagues because they had no ` respect for Education. I could not afford the luxury of being derailed by some village champions who were dangerous ignoramuses.
Keeping it real
Many may think I am against education, I am not against it but I seek to deliver an honest opinion that may save someone from the pain of misinformation and expectation. The better part of our people were like me, believing that education was the answer to all our life’s ills. However useful education can be, it still has no answers for many life dynamics. This saying that the educated will get a great life is an exaggeration. Over the years life has shown me that it has no formulae.
Is Education a Blessing?
In our formative years, we were taught a long-lasting poem titled The Blessings of Education. I particularly liked the part that read, ‘Without education, man is nothing. A splendid slave…..’ Every time I sat behind a desk I was not a bookworm but a book monster who was hell-bent on escaping the doom and gloom of slavery. But as l am now fully grown, I realize that education is at the forefront of a legalized slavery system which makes me comfortable but pays me two cents in the comfort of a tie. The very element of slavery I invested in is sadly turning out to be my present-day reality. I believe I speak for many when I say someone oversold the importance of education to us.
Failure is Acceptable
Education also misrepresented certain facts to us. We were told that failure is unacceptable and it is the end of our dreams. We were made to pride in our academic prowess and imagine a flawless world. Life has taught me better. Failure is not fatal, it is just an event that can be reversed or corrected. Life gives us chances and we need to maximise them but failure is not the end of the world. Some so many people are non-graduates but who have become a success story. Most millionaires are not graduates.
Conveyor belts of unemployment
Every time the universities open they have an open day where they orient students on the specific career paths each degree course will take them. They make those presentations with all authority and audacity. It becomes clear that we go to college to study hard and become successful graduates. It seems like after graduation we will have the best jobs and become the best earners. Sadly we are not told that the job market is saturated and for years the same universities have been releasing graduates like a conveyor belt. They are the conveyor belts of unemployment, frustration, and despondency.
The face of success
One of my teachers, Lorenzo Marquez, used to tell us that education is the key to success. I believed him but was shocked when I met Phillip G, the guy who used to come last in our class pushing a Mercedes Benz G Wagon. He was such a success story that he was considered a high-profile citizen even without an ordinary-level certificate. Over the years I have met many people who are filthy rich but do not know the door of a university. It finally dawned on me that education is not the only way.
The smart are dead
I am still learning the hard way. Growing up and excelling in school, l was told that I was smart. However, I figured out that the purpose of the school was to make me smarter.
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There was that psychological contract between me and education. I thought I was making progress and considered myself smart. But now reality has shown me that college is not about smartness. College is about the study of other people. If l can be specific, it is about studying the brains of dead people. The only smart people are those dead geniuses whom we cite in our academic work. The rest of us are learning how to conform to the mindsets of the smart.
Power in the wrong hands
If something is interesting about college, it is the dangerous powers that are vested in the lives of lecturers. They are demi-gods, who with a few lines and the stroke of a pen can ruin your academic career forever. A good number of them take pleasure in inflicting pain on the vulnerable students. Some even demand payment in cash and others in kind. A lot of shameful stories will never be divulged but they happen in institutions of higher learning.
Success is broad
Forget about the academic gibberish and welcome to the world of reality. Success is not a product of your academic credentials, although your credentials can be a contributing factor. Success is primarily a product of vision clarity and vision execution. You need a vision to know your level of success. Education will help you craft your vision better, but a man without education can still use a common sense approach and succeed. The most powerful person in life is the one who can sell his vision and passion with clarity.
Life is not a classroom
Never despise those who did not attend school because life is not a classroom. If you disrespect them, it will introduce you to the place of hard knocks which feeds on the survival of the fittest. On a more serious note, I think the African education curriculum is long overdue for a revamp. Education needs to be more practical and begin to answer to the needs of industry so that we become a progressive and relevant continent. It is time African education deals with contemporary technological issues like Artificial Intelligence. China and Europe are already leading the way. May our African education arise and shine for national, continental, and global relevancy.
Christ remains the ultimate leader, smart leaders follow Him and many will follow them. The next level is a reality. Let us meet at the top, where you become the topic.
Dr Ted Msipa is Pastor, Author, Visionary and Public Speaker based in Maseru, Lesotho. He writes here in his personal capacity and view shared here do not necessarily reflect those of Africa News 24. He solves organisational development challenges and leadership challenges. Dr Ted can be reached on Coachted117@gmail.com or on +266 63177309.
