I have seen a lot of young people neglected, considered uneducated and treated as useless, because they rejected some form of schooling to pursue their passions.
This is due to general ignorance of what education is. Education here is generally limited to schooling and pays less or no attention to passion & talents.
This is no doubt, the reason why we have a lot of unbaked and unemployed graduates, with no vision, purpose and sense of belonging.
It is easier for an average African family to come together to sponsor a child who got admission to the university, consistently, for more than four years, giving no attention to what becomes of him after school, than to sponsor the same child's projects outside school, if at all, for four years.
This trend is popularized by the well furnished ignorance that education could only be acquired in certain schools. Being educated is not at all time a function of schooling, although it helps in some cases where one studies the right course.
When is a course considered right?
A few years ago, I wrote in "WHEN EDUCATION BECOMES INDOCTRINATION", an article published by one of the most popular national newspapers in Nigeria, that "accepting a change of course, just to be a university student is the first evidence of lack of vision, goal and a definite purpose in life".
That is a a fact!
The trend continues due to the fact that people just want to be in school, in name of wanting to be addressed as educated. What majority of these students get is not education, but indoctrination as stated above.
What is Education?
Education is derived from the Greek word, Edukos, which means 'To Draw Forth From Within'. That's brilliant.
What do you draw forth from within? It is simply what is inside of you: talents & passions!
I once stated that true education is the type of education that helps to develop talents and skills, in connection with passion. Thus, the right course is only a course that does the above stated.
Since education means to draw forth from within, then, a child who has passion for music has no business studying other courses, except music.
And such child is so right to reject formal schooling to pursue music.
For instance, I am not a fan of conventional education, I hate staying in the class.
I learn in the most unconventional manners possible.
When I was in school, I don't write notes, I only write jargons, yet I pass exams; there are many like myself, who learn more on the field and via experiences and experiments, than they do in the class.
Judging intelligent students only by their performances in class and in exams alone is, in most cases, like judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Purge yourself of the belief that you only have to attend the university to be educated!
There is a difference between being addressed as educated and being educated. Educated people are those that acquire the type of education that liberates their passions and helps develop their talents for the benefit of themselves and their society.
To Parents:
Please do your children the favour of allowing them acquire the type of education that helps them develop their talents and liberate their passions; these are things they have within. This type of education might not necessarily be available in university.
So, it is not mandatory to send your child to university, except what he's going to study has connection with his talents and can help liberate his passion.
©Written by Eneji Stephen
