A close look at the meaning of education beds the essential need of it. Education, a relevant tool for a worthwhile life. In line with the asked question, one is forced to re-ask, what is education? And how can it be over-rated? So, what is education?
Education as a phenomenon has enjoyed different definitions and consequently, one definition cannot be said to be Superior. However, world wide acceptable definitions are commonly identified with unified trend. Let us consider these,
"Education is the process of acquiring the body of knowledge and skills that people are expected to have in your society. A good education develops a critical thought process in addition to learning accepted facts. It also encourages intellectual curiosity, which will lead to lifelong learning." https://www.quora.com/What-do-you-mean-by-education-and goodeducation. According Oyekan (2000), education is the aggregate of learning processes.
Ngada Audu James says, "Education is the only instrument that when wisely and effectively utilized can develop the entire society. It is expected to prepare the medical doctor for his profession, the engineer, architect, teacher, politician and all other professional towards the full development of their society. Education is the single largest industry that is expected to attract the lion's share of a nation's budget if meaningful development is to take place as it affects all spheres of life of the totality of any society."
From the foregoing, education is simply the clothes one must wear to avoid being called mad or immoral. It is a basic necessity for basic human existence.
Therefore can we overemphasize the importance of education? Oh no! No education, no life.
Meanwhile, people often confuse school with getting education. Succinct difference is ostensibly created. Education could be formal, non-formal or semi-formal.
While formal education is classroom-based carried out by trained teachers. Or we say, formal education is a planned learning content that is carried out in a structure by trained personnel. On the other hand, non-formal education doesn't have a designed learning content and it doesn't take place in classroom. Or we simply put, Organised and systematic learning activity conducted outside the formal education system.
Non-formal education and training is understood as education and training leading to qualifications which are not directly recognised as such by relevant national education authorities (or equivalent authorities) or not leading to any qualifications at all (although recognition and validation of learning outcomes could then be used and indirectly lead to formal qualifications). This concept is therefore distinguished from formal education and training, which: (a) typically takes place in (or, in the case of formal apprenticeships, dually involve) the system of schools, colleges and universities and other formal education institutions; (b) normally, although not necessarily, constitutes a continuous ladder of education for children and young people; (c) is directly relevant for the determination of the highest level of formal education attained. It is also distinguished from random and informal learning which are not intentional and/or not institutionalised. (https://unevoc.unesco.org/go.php?q=TVETipedia+Glossary+A-Z&id=185)
From the disparity above, can one establish that either of the two major forms of education can be overemphasized? In both ends, education commands the living of a person.
Actually, if one is not educated (formal and/or informal), one is simply 'dead'. However, schooling can be over rated in the sense that one needs more than going to school to become 'useful' and at times the best in one can be discovered outside school. Just like the footballers, sweemers and so on. They don't teach these and some other talented skills in school but can be grabbed outside school yet, the ones that don't attend school but maximize their innate potentials are individuals that outstanding and can compete with their counterparts that have attended school.
