Many people have been led to believe that “you won’t be successful in life if you haven’t gone to school.” If going through school is financially lucrative, then graduates ought to be multimillionaires, whereas dropouts ought to be penniless. But you see, that’s not the case. We have teenagers making profits from alternative investments. I mean, not the conventional mutual funds or stock types of investment portfolios. The income of teenagers and young adults in their mid-20s who did not attend university is frequently higher than that of graduates. But is going to university really necessary, especially in Africa?
First, The School Judgement
“But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” –Albert Einstein.
They may end up with poor grades and earn the label “dummy” which they are not. The only problem is that the school does not recognize their type of intelligence and is comparing them with other students that have logical and verbal-linguistic intelligence. Thereby judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree.
Who School “epp”?
Going to university has so many advantages. The social skills and network you build are one. But you can build these skills elsewhere too. Have you examined the educational backgrounds of the entrepreneurs and employees providing services to the clearing and forwarding or freight sector, the entertainment industry, or the information and technology sector?
“Success in academics does not guarantee success in the real world. Don’t think that it is the end of the road simply because you failed in the school system.” – Motivational speaker 🙂
There are many successful Africans and Nigerians who had poor grades, didn’t go to school or are school dropouts, but I’ll mention a few of them.
- Michael Collins aka Don jazzy a famous music producer and the CEO of Marvin records.
- Femi Otedola, the former chairman of forte oil and a successful petroleum products importer in Nigeria.
- Mrs Folorunsho Alakija is the richest woman in Nigeria.
- Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma, the founder of Innoson Groups, manufacturers of IVM motors and Innoson plastics.
- Mercy Johnson is a popular Nigerian actress.
An interesting thing about these successful people mentioned here is that they did not only create a means of income for themselves, but they also created employment opportunities for others.
Unlike the school system where students are taught to have good grades that will help them to secure good jobs. Whereas in reality, advances in technology have replaced some jobs. The job economy is evolving. No wonder there is an increasing rate of unemployment in some countries – Nigeria inclusive.
So, what do we do?
I’m not against schools. You have to know where your intelligence is recognized and appreciated. That’s why I’m advocating that “going to school is not necessary but education is.”
You can get an education in the dance studio, acting studio, woodshop, fashion school, or by taking courses. You will learn faster when you are doing practical work that has demand. You make mistakes and learn from them.
This will give you an edge over some graduates who have the mindset that when they make mistakes, they are stupid because the school system does not tolerate mistakes. Any wrong answer attracts a deduction of a mark. So they are usually afraid of taking risks.
With the right education, hard work, and determination you can fulfil your dreams and be successful with or without going to school.
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Glory is an enthusiastic copywriter at TechAssembly who loves to write about innovation and behaviour. She is an alumni of the iCamp programme by TechAssembly.