October 04th, 2019

SCHOOL NA SCAM!!!

Is school really the scam or is the spotlight just on school?

This is one statement the average Nigerian student has come to believe. It seems very difficult to defend or try preaching the usefulness of organized schooling to the one who is convinced that the statement is true. Who school elp? He asks rhetorically. After all Dangote no go school (which is completely false).
The reason people make or believe this statement isn’t too far from the truth. We live in a society where practically nothing works. There are lots of people who regardless of how well they performed while in school come out to join the ever expanding but unemployed or/and unemployable work force. Everyone keeps on seeking his spot and where he could just fit in the puzzle. Most don’t actually give two fucks if they fit properly or not, they just need to fit. You know? Man must chop na!
Every day, we see people who had the “brightest future” while growing up now just doing anything or something to get by, one would wonder if dreams die over here or the system just has a way of killing dreams. They are those who are just in the puzzle howbeit unfittingly. Then there are others who have taken to shortcuts in a bid to getting better lives. Man must hustle before ee chop! So he says. To the uninitiated, the word hustle as used here means cutting corners through any means possible. Then of course, there are the “microscopically selected” few who are doing well for themselves ether with the help of somebody who knows someone that matters or strictly by their own abilities. In all, this last group is almost insignificant when compared to all other groups.
So is it that organized schooling has lost its purpose or we just are not getting things right over here? The latter is more likely than the former. Personally, I do not think organized schooling in Nigeria is a total scam but the real scam I believe; is the over elevation of its purpose. You know? Growing up all kids had to go to school and our parents, teachers, neighbors and basically the society had a special way of comparing us with our mates. Hence; the person who came first does he have two heads? Rarely or never are we ever compared with people we are better than.
If you are still reading this exceptionally boring article till now, you would have noticed the repeated use of the phrase “organized schooling” in place of just schooling. This is deliberate and not without reason. Personally, I believe life is a process of continuous learning, that everywhere is a school and also that everything is a form of education which doesn’t necessarily always have to be in an organized system with all the rules. You know? “Straight line, sit down, raise your hand if you want to speak” lifestyle we all grew learning and are now teaching.
Education is actually gotten from the Latin word “educatio” which means “bring up or train” and also means “educe” which is to “bring forth from within”. This statement being true then it would not only be unfair but also unrealistic to expect the entire burden of education to rest solely on the shoulders of the organized schooling system. A system which is inadequately funded and lacking both quality teachers and their students (story for another day). It will also be unwise for the organized schools to now take the god-like role assessing people’s lives and overall performance and “judging” them only based on their academic prowess. Inasmuch as academics are important they aren’t more important that other facets of life like the sports, entertainment, entrepreneurship and what have you. If we took the “flip test” and judge every individual based on his ability to perform well in sports then the academically sound boy who lacks the knack for athletics will think he is not worth much. And this is what most instructors at schools make their not so bright students believe. In some instances, the “dull” students are totally ignored or abandoned. So when people see the large number of people who go to school and still come out without a clear path or apparatus in place for them, then it is easy to tag the entire process a scam!
But just like in school, there is a fair amount of athletes who are trying to have their big breaks, many of whom may never get them just like in school. There is also a fair amount of these athletes with very bright and promising futures who like their counterparts in school will have all dreams shattered like a broken glass. The same pattern is observed when one looks at all other facets and I think that’s life. But then school is scam after all yeah, and all others are not? The reason school is labeled like this is the fact that school has been packaged and presented as the “ultimate” which shouldn’t be. It’s just one aspect of an individual’s life which doesn’t represent the overall life performance of such an individual.
The same way it is hard for graduates to get good jobs is the same way it is difficult for people with good intentions to get elected into political positions and is no different from the way it is difficult for the talented young footballer to get signed up and the list goes on and on. The system in Nigeria for most parts, actually doesn’t work, it would be absolutely delusional of anyone to think otherwise. This is the same reason every group or association has one grievance or the other to settle with the government regarding policies which affect each directly and concerns over the welfare of her staff.
Is school really the scam or is the spotlight just on school?
Hi, Gbaleh.
By
@Sirbabagee