There’s a phrase that goes on around these days “school na scam” is a slogan that is now becoming prevalent amongst the youths. Some of them try to use that slogan to justify that there are many rich people out there who aren’t scholarly inclined while many graduates can barely afford to feed themselves. Today, we are going to analyse that statement without picking a side. 

First of all, what is education? According to the Oxford dictionary, education is the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university. But on a broader note, education is the art of transfer (teaching and receiving) of knowledge from one person to another. And whether we believe it or not, education brings out an inherent and permanent change in an individual’s thinking and also their latent talent and skill. Let’s take it as discovering a gold or diamond that can’t reach its full value without being refined. It doesn’t matter whatever talent or skill you have, without the right education to refine them, their true potential might not be reached. 

One great problem is that most people look at the life of others to come up with conclusions on hot subjects. The truth is that too many people have a superficial concept of education and they equate it to only doing a particular course or obtaining a degree. That you have a university degree in computer science doesn’t guarantee you a job in a company if you don’t understand the basics of the course. There are many people who haven’t gone to universities but are working in big companies as their computer scientist and engineer coming up with excellent system codes as and when needed.

People can spend years in school without any significant change and after all these years, they become unemployable. Consequently, some shout the slogan “school na scam.” But going to school and not building your skills in today’s educational system is the real scam. Nicky Verd said, “You are yet to catch up with the real world if you have never studied any concepts outside the school syllabus or read any books besides the textbooks school forces you to read. Most people are programmed, not educated.” He couldn’t have put it any better. 

In todays’ world where emphasis is placed on skill in addition to educational qualification, there’s the need to build your skills while getting your degrees. Reading a book, writing them out in an exam and getting good grades at the end doesn’t mean you have been educated, especially if you don’t integrate what you have read into your life and memory for personal development. Little wonder Albert Einstein said, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” Real education therefore is what is embedded into one’s brain and anyone who understands true learning knows that it comes from repeated exposure and use of information and skills. 

Without education, you can’t refine your skill, you can’t become better at what you do and you can never attain an immense state of personal development, in that case, how is education or school (a place of education) a scam?

The positive effects of education on a country cannot be overemphasised as societies with higher levels of literacy and education tend to have higher rates of economic stability, lower crime rate and greater gender equality benefits.  The positives that come with education are societal and personal and we at EduGrant have understood these benefits for years. It is why in the middle of the shouts that “school na scam,” we keep shouting a resounding “No!” Education is life, and that’s why we are investing a lot into ensuring we help as many young ones as possible to attain true and quality education.

We have rolled out scholarships and schemes for youths to benefit to build their certificate and skills because we know that school was not, is not and can never be “A scam.”  And any nation that wants to grow must invest greatly in the education of its citizens.