Even though education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world, as once said by Nelson Mandela, Kenya’s higher education is overrated.
More than half of us, if not all, have been made to believe that owning a degree or getting an admission to a university, proves that one has made it in life.
People still hold dear the belief that knowledge acquired in her learning institution is very powerful and it's the key to a comfortable life.
However, it has its flaws.
Truth be told, the title higher learning institution has a magical ring to it that attracts immeasurable respect.
The only shortcoming to it is that today, most Kenyan students opt for Higher Education Loans Board since they are financially unstable.
After completion of their studies, they now have debts to pay.
Many families have also had to sell their properties to send their children to the universities or colleges with hopes of their children acquiring the best education, getting good jobs and go change the situation back at home.
However, when their children graduate they fail to get employment.
In this day and age, one's value is defined by the kind of education one has gone through.
It is in these higher learning institutions that people learn different skills and gain exposure.
After graduating and failing to secure jobs, many people end up doing menial jobs that do not fit what they had studied for.
On the flip side, most school drop-outs opt to come up with great ideas and end up establishing lucrative businesses even without attaining a degree.
Most higher learning institutions base their educations on more theories than practicals.
After graduating and probably getting employed, these particular students end up underperforming because they were not well-equipped with practical knowledge.
Higher education is both a waste of resources and a waste of time.
Many spend at least four years only for them to end up in the field of careers that they had not even studied.
Society has been conditioned to believe that for one to be ahead of the game, one must have attended university.
This is attributed to the fact that university degrees are hyped as lucrative and marketable, although the limitation of this is unemployment after graduating.
It would have been better if universities invested more in practical skills and taught students how to create job opportunities rather than seek employment.
Students at Rongo University and St Paul's
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
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