Mainstream Education

Mainstream education is not enough

Education is very important and I believe everyone should get educated. However, the quality and relevance of education matter more than just any equation. More importantly, the quality of those who are transferring knowledge and skills is as much an important part of the equation as it is the quality of education/ curriculum/ content itself.

Clearly there are flaws or pitfalls to the current education system, and some of them are the following;

1. The curriculum relevance;
Most of the current curriculum being taught in school was meant to solve the shortage of skills of the passed, and not the demand of skills I today’s labour market. Employers used to partner with education centers and get them to teach a particular skill they would need either presently or in years to come. So, the curriculum was designed to make us employees.
Yet most of the curriculum being talk at universities and colleges hasn’t changed for years and hence is not exactly relevant o meet the current demand of the labor market, let alone entrepreneurship.

I have been in the marketplace long enough to understand that in an attempt to reduce cost, most cooperation are automating most of the functions they used to employ for.
So, the question is; Should universities and colleges keep on teaching courses that would soon be faced out or/and automated?

At present we have lots of graduates who are not employed, and those that are under-employed ( like those who wait table even though possessing good qualifications), and most of those working today are doing something they didn’t study at the university for.
So, what is the use in studying if you are never going to use your acquired knowledge? We have too larger number of graduates with certificates gathering dust.

2. The educators;
– skills; the ability of teachers to teach is very important, however considerable number of teachers are under-skilled or are used to the old way of teaching and are teaching the old and irrelevant content.

– remuneration; clearly teachers do a very important job teaching and imparting knowledge, provided it is relevant, and should be remunerated fairly. Good teachers leave their posts searching for better paying jobs. Cheap labour lead to bellow standard products, the same way underpaid teachers tend to give poor quality of education.

The world changes at a very rapid rate and most of what we learn today is likely to be irrelevant in few months time, mostly due to the rapid change in technology and information being on our finger tips. A postman was very important and in demand years ago before emails and sms. Print media was a major source of information years ago before electronic media or television.

So, we each have responsibility to keep ourselves relevant. We have to learn each day, either formally or informally, otherwise we would not be able to earn a living and compete globally. We all need mentors from whose mistakes and successes we need to learn. We need to keep up with the changes otherwise we would be left behind. The world is ‘globalized’ and hence companies can outsource functions and roles to the likes of China and India, which are for the most part more skilled and less expensive than the rest of us. We are in a tough competition for jobs, you better believe that!

Check out this video and tell me what you think