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At some point,a quiet but dangerous question crept into global conversations not shouted, not protested, but whispered:
Are universities still worth trusting?
In an age where a teenager can learn coding or cyber security on YouTube, build a six-figure business from a smartphone, and earn certificates from global tech giants without stepping into a lecture hall, the relevance of universities is being questioned like never before. Once regarded as sacred spaces of truth, innovation, and social mobility, institutions of higher learning are now under scrutiny.With Rising tuition fees, outdated curricula, strikes, unemployable graduates, and the growing success of non-degree pathways have forced society to pause and ask Do we still need universities at all?

Universities were built on a promise to knowledge, credibility, and transformation. Yet for many students today, that promise feels broken and unaccomplished.
Across continents,some dropouts,graduates leave school burdened with debt,only to face unemployment or underemployment. Employers complain that degree holders lack practical skills. Students question why they must memorize theories that barely apply to real-world problems.From political interference and exploitative systems.

Today, companies like Google, Meta, and IBM offer certifications that compete directly with university degrees.Entrepreneurs are self-taught.Creatives learn by doing,from online courses,bootcamps,virtual classrooms, mentorship programs, and self-paced learning platforms have democratized access to skills.Tech talents are hired based on portfolios, not transcripts.
The modern world is fast, adaptive, and technology-driven. Unfortunately, many universities are slow, rigid, and lack digital literacy, and interdisciplinary learning into their systems.

When employers value skills over degrees and the internet teaches faster than lecture halls, the authority of universities is now threatening and uninteresting;it is on trial.This a call for upgrade and reinvention; Universities that once shaped the future,today, the future is questioning whether it still needs them.

What you don't get from formal education is structured, interactive, and disciplined learning. You might only see people who have achieved success autodidactically, but you won't see much of the percentage who fail because they don't speak up, and they have no one to blame but themselves. The difference is, formal education has statistics on students from start to graduation, while non-formal education doesn't.

I think success is simply natural selection. If you see a video of a success story that gets millions of views, maybe only 5 people can truly replicate the same approach. Therefore, the advice says, "Don't judge success by the results, but by the process."

Do you think cybersecurity, coding, entrepreneurship, and other tech skills are the only professions in the world. Can a student learn courses like medicine and surgery online?

Universities are still relevant and can still be trusted. Some universities upgrade their curriculum to suit modern or current happenings. Online education is an option that students can still take advantage of. If you don't have the funds to go to a physical university, an online university is an option.    

I would not trust a doctor who got his medical knowledge by watching medical videos on youtube for 2 months... The same way I would not trust a physicist who primarily majored in big bang theory (the show).

All those big industry certifications are bullshit, designed towards creating half-baked intellectuals with no real deeper knowledge.

It's never been up to universities to make the decision for individuals, if they offer more choices because there seems to be demand in certain areas then that is the fault of society rather than higher education. As long as they are offering a reasonably high quality product, are clear on what it involves and offer it up at a transparent price, then why shouldn't they construct new degrees? It's one of the key ways that new fields start to open up more easily, as people are trained to a somewhat competent level in the area of AI or deep machine learning for example. These courses did not exist until one day they were in high demand. Rubbish or obsolete degrees eventually get filtered back out again.

The fact that school professors and lectures aren't aren't to the extent that they can be considered wealthy in the society is affecting the interest of people to actually study or have anything to do with school.
Imagine being thought business administration or management by Someone who hasn't yet managed a globally successful business or owned anyone to their name.
Also the school system should start reflecting the present reality, the system is too rigid and the use the same old style and work to teach students even if new ways like steaming, blogging and so on should make it way to the curriculum.

Universities aren't on trial, they already lost. We're just in the part where everybody pretends the verdict isn't in yet.

The entire framing is based on the assumption that universities were serving students. They haven't been, not for some time. They've been serving themselves. Administrator bloat went insane. Tuition exploded (and yeah, it really did explode, this isn't exaggeration). Tenured jobs disappeared while adjuncts make poverty wages. Students became customers AND product simultaneously, spending ludicrous amounts of money while the institution uses their research labor to generate patents and prestige the students never see a cut of.

Google certificates are excellent for entry level jobs. Then what? You're going up against people who have degrees AND experience. Self-taught is brilliantly done if you have the motivation and discipline, and the time. Most people aren't and don't. They need structure, deadlines, someone telling them what they didn't know yet.

We are still behaving as if there is One Path. There isn't. Never was, really, but we pretended there was because it was convenient and profitable. Some fields require quite a lot of theoretical background - you're not learning surgery from TikTok, obviously. Others don't need it at all.

What's dying isn't education. It's the monopoly that universities have had on legitimizing it. That's different. Probably good. Maybe competition is forcing them to produce actual value rather than coasting on the reputation built up by people who have been retired since the 90s.

They can be trusted if you know what to expect from them. None of these colleges will teach you how to handle your finances. Even the finance schools won’t. None will teach you how to start and run a business properly. Even the business schools. They teach you how to be a good employee but that doesn’t mean they are completely useless. You can learn a lot from them but you don’t need to too hard to get a degree from the beat schools unless your parents are rich. Just have a degree in case but your skills definitely matter more than your college degree. That’s the truth. You can learn almost anything from the internet ai nowadays if you are dedicated enough. Have some initial capital, have a strong idea and that’s enough to start things up. A College degree is a nice thing to have but not a must.

I will answer your question before I ask mine. Yes, university can still be trusted. My question is, if you don't trust university, do you trust illiteracy? To attend a university is not to just get a certificate but to learn from lectures, scientists, professors, etc, who have the knowledge that you don't have and you are there at the university to learn from them. Why I ask if you trust illiteracy is because there are many other professional courses that you can not learn online, you will need to be at the practical labs not just class rooms, you will need to learn together with other students do some team works together.


Is it that easy? No it's not, it's easier said than done. Check the history of some entrepreneurs and you will observe that most of them failed, most of them sold their business at some point and many faced challenges that caused them not to succeed.

Another question for you, those people that you think you can learn from on YouTube or social media and collect a certificate, do you think they never trusted universities? Those CEOs of the global tech giant that you mentioned, do you think they only learned online?


 Maybe University is expensive, maybe unemployment explode in some countries but university education is not something you can rule out or question if it should be trusted or not. IMO, it can never be dis-trusted. If you have the opportunity and resources to go to university, do so.

It seems to me that institutions are for people who follow the rules of those who want, after all, when they graduate and see that in real life you have to move on your own and socialize, which is also important for your business contacts because academic training is the tutorial. Years of work experience repeating the same thing makes you good at that thing, and if a company happens to need it and you know how to get it, it's more useful than wasting your money and time at a university. But the personal achievement of representing yourself is worth it if you're happy

Traditional universities or schools, just like many other things, were likely fun places to be, learn and teach, until they became formalized. If you don't teach or don't like to teach according to their standards, you get discouraged,, demoted, rejected or removed from your positions, then the non-talented conformists take over and lead the entire system.

I think universities should be places for people who have mastered their talents to groom undeveloped like-minded talents. The masters should teach Maths, Language, etc in their own ways that students can easily understand and still arrive at thesame (or better) conclusions/solutions.
Talent is natural rather than what you mold people to become. A proper knowledge center should have the right foundation (based on teaching people the best and right ways to know or do things) and allow teachers  to teach in their own ways without deviating from the foundation. Instead of telling a teacher to teach a method used by a scientist to generate electricity, tell him to solve that in his own ways. Ofcourse, he could pick one or few things from the methods of the scientist, rather than outrightly copying him like it's done in universities.
 This is  part of what can make knowledge fun and dynamic.

This is where the problem lies that it feels as if university education is no longer relevant, many people go to university so they can graduate and get well paid jobs. But now it seems that university graduates are growing more than available jobs and most people with the mindset of get a degree and get a well paid job are discouraged.

The paradigm shift started when university graduates sees their mates that never attended university doing far better than them financially. I've seen many graduates who are doing very well financially but they have never used their degree to earn anything. The internet has opened new doors and opportunities for every smart person to learn skills and earn without a degree.

The way I see it I don't think that people should go to universities mainly to graduate and immediately get a white collar job that will make them live comfortably for life. Go to a university to become a professional at something and try to improve yourself on your own so that you won't depend only on your credentials to get a job to survive. For those that cannot afford to get a formal education in a university they now have opportunities to learn skills and improve themselves on the internet. The trend that I see now is that people are given jobs and contracts based on what they can perform rather than the degrees that they have.

I will not say that universities has lost it place or respect that it used to have some few years ago when university certificate was held at high esteem. The problem is that slots of people try to misunderstand the concept of school, the essence of school is for self enlightenement with the current economic situation that we find ourselves nobody should reply on school to survive in this country because there are limited job opportunities. Alot of people mistake going to school for financial stability or freedom. You should understand that going to school doesn't translate to success.


The problem with those who has gone to school is that they see those who have acquired a skill as people who are not enlightened or educated. So over time those who has been able to acquire a skill become more successful due to stable source of income and so university certificate has become less fancied.

Educational structures have been put in place, whereby the student even at the cause of learning before graduation could grab some technical application of what they are learning from their various institutions, we have programs like SIWES, I.T among others, whereby the student can acquire some basic skills where necessary before graduating, but how many are truly taking advantage of these programs, same applies tot he graduate internships among others, are there many students still interested in all these, because they are the path to their professional career which many don't know.

You highlight the serious fact about modern education system. In modern era everyone can guess other individuals through there wealth and money thats why many students losses there interest in study because they are not seen their professors as financially successful. The reason behind that there is gap between theory and Practical work and this may lead to reduces the dignity of education department. Moreover our education system has some genion faults like its depends on old methods and not match with current economic realities. On the other hand world rapidly going towards digitization so schools are now slow to adapt.So the learning point is that we need some changes in education system like we should focus on practical applications and also on the usage of modern tools.

From my experience, I'm not having a good time at university. I have the perception the content taught there is too general and repetitive. Professors aren't really interested in sharing experiences and discussing in a open way with students. They feel threated by simple questions made by students, don't answer them directly and express too much ego. It truly seems they are there just to grab their wage, while students are there just to grab their diploma.

Moreover, there are disciplines where the professor talks randomly about the content and on the test, nothing which was said in class is asked. Some professors just copy and paste tests' questions from another tests and contests.

The institution doesn't actually care if all those hundreds of students are going to find a job in the end inside the field they have been studying for 4 or 5 years. There is nobody to appeal. Or you accept this situation, or you leave.

Yes, to be fair, that is the positive side of studying at an university. The first year and the first disciplines are interesting because everything is quite new and it comes in a structured format you wouldn't have access to through youtube videos, for an example. But after a while, it gets pointless, besides all the gossips and mediocrity going on inside the environment, which tend to become the main attractive for the individuals inserted there.

Universities remain relevant today because there are still many subjects students can learn to prepare themselves for the world of work. Not everything can be learned autodidactically, especially in fields that require more structured learning and professional guidance, such as engineering, law, medicine, etc.
While some aspects of universities may seem outdated and less relevant, such as curricula that are slow to keep up with changing times, these are just some of the issues facing the world of education. However, that doesn't mean universities no longer play a vital role, they remain crucial institutions in research, development, and preparing the next generation for the world of work.

It is not university that has left many people feeling unaccomplished but rather the quality of education being offered by the university they've attended in this specific country they attended the university. A country with a poor educational system will have poor education in its universities that will be unable to secure or assure jobs to graduate from them on a global level, but a country with good educational standard will have graduates with proper skills required to be successful. University degree's are only losing its relevance in countries with poor educational structures not countries that value and put a lot of focus on education.

Why can't you trust? We can't trust only the worst universities that don't have a value. Yes, we still need universities for education. We just need to add a section or subject to develop technical skill. Who told you that you can't learn coding or cyber security from university? It's just a matter of adding that subject to teach practically. We can't ignore study; unless you are literate, then how will you learn cyber security?

Employers value skill; at the same time, they look for institutional certificates as well that have to be gained from the university. I know the importance of the skill, and universities could start teaching practically. We all need a revolution to develop our skills along with certificates. You can learn from the internet, but you can't gain the degree without a university that will be asked about everywhere you apply for a job. Very few employers only ask for skill; most will also ask for a certificate as well.

Universities have not lost their relevance yet. Can medicine, physics and literature be learned online? There are other subjects that cannot be learned online, universities are needed. Even universities are not just places for studying, but also for acquiring social norms, etiquette, leadership and basic knowledge.

Political influence is responsible for some universities losing their relevance. Fascist political leaders do not want the youth of their country to be educated and point fingers at the government, which is why universities have been made independent of education and are secretly calling for immoral acts to mislead.

Reasons why the Universities or formal education has been questioned is the fact that it was built in the idea of graduating and getting a job but the world today is suffering from unemployment and lack of real world knowledge as it's not shared in universities, at the end you will have to come out and seek a good job but it requires 10 years of experience but you have barely graduated and now you need experience yet you will not be given the opportunity to gather the experience all this has lead to people doubting the educational system if it's a weapon against the people or actually a good idea to help cope with life and see real success, today's world internet school is valued over formal education becomes it's vital for technological advancement but the education gotten from this universities are merely theory with no value so it very difficult not to doubt if formal education is holding its power.

Fresh graduates have opportunities in the market too if they've made great extra curricular accomplishments while in school, employers consider hiring newly out of school job seekers based on how well they performed studying the industry. Unfortunately, most graduates do not push more efforts while in the university, thereby being unable to fit into the job market.

I understand your point that the expectations employers needs from employed workers is the obligations to meet up the companies needs and which is just why they are being hired a d paid.
But to in and advanced sense of reasoning, there are also professional fields in the industry or sectors which requires the individuals to be learned about the theory too and same time have knowledge about it practicals.
Remember not all skill holders are educational readability and there are scenario's such as the office dependents who attends to the companies documentaries and also represents the companies in the overall contrasts which may fits in only those with scholars experience with good composure.
So I hope you why education or university has it impacts aside just being skillful alone.

Yes here I agree with you , all courses are not possible online. Universities are still trusted because now they are also aware or admit this reality that the degree they provided previously did not have worth. so now they also upgraded their system or curriculum . Now they offer different online courses that really need of this time or that really improve the practical skill of the students.  In most of the cases now government also involve and facilitate the universities, providing them professional training and modern equipment to the institution. yes last year people felt that degrees had no worth more, but now because of changes in teaching  methods or curriculum, it gaining value again.

Basically your schooling or university studies and degree are for enabling you to think with some common sense and this way, I agree with the corporates who even hire the people without any degree. Your degree must be a basic eligibility criteria so far and now some companies are going forward by removing that basic eligibility thing. This is because of, even with degree some people are not capable of innovating anything by themselves. When your degree is not a real indication of your knowledge level then what would be a point of holding it and considering it for an employment.

In near future, we may need to compete against a teenage kid for a job even we are a degree holder. Because, when degree loses its significances then we need to realize that school students also will get qualify for applying to a job which are meant only for degree holders as of now. I would welcome this evolution as it would help skill development and innovation to next generations.

The university is not just about obtaining certificate, their is more to acquire in the university. In the discipline will learn patience and how to be discipline. To some people the university played a very good role in their moral and character.  The university is a place where you can explore. The university is a place where you can meet good people whi can better your life and people who you really need them for life , so if you are thinking you can do without the university because of their other places which you can also obtain this skills and training. Going to school is very important , it can change one's life which one cant not predict.

I agree with every single thing that you talked about, but to answer your question, well it all depends on who chooses to trust and who chooses not. The labour market today demands more for those with skill and experience, and also also for the degree because it has become an essential formality despite them knowing how cracked the system is. Unarguably, majority of these schools are still operating in a similar system as that of the 90's, despite the fact that a lot of things has changed in the world.

Back then in the days, the system worked fine... Just get your degree and get a job, but in this era, it takes more than that. This era demands extra effort especially if you want to stand out. Like I said, the degree is still very much a formality that the society recognize. It's certainly ideal for us to trust it, but we shouldn't be trapped in its world  that might seem like a limitation. There is certainly more to do than just getting a degree. We're not longer in an era of getting easy jobs, but we're in an era that demands extra effort, studies, research, etc, and all these are most times not part of what we acquire as a degree.

This debate about degrees is now at its peak, the world of careers is truly changing. On one hand big companies like Google and IBM are now valuing skills more than degrees. On the other hand for professions like doctors, engineers or in high level corporate positions a degree is still essential

In my opinion the real winner is the one who possesses both skills and a degree. University education is not entirely worthless but in todays world relying solely on outdated academic learning will not suffice, one must acquire practical skills. Therefore finding your goal and choosing the right path to achieve it is the real key to success

Duke Khan

University is an environment were learning takes place, in my country when honoring you with a university degree, they specify that you are being honored in character and in learning, that is to say for the period of time you stayed in the university environment, you where very disciplined because of the processes to which you are allowed to go through, this processes shapes your mindset, shapes your ideals, because the university does not only teach you your course of study, they also extend metaphysical courses that teaches social engineering and how to survive real life situation, these are things you don't get on social media or YouTube.

The education system creates a step-by-step progress, as a student there are things you learn gradually from stage 1 that will lead you to the next stage and this process builds your understanding, in all the university system is very essential in our society regardless of the advancements in technology.

I mean if employment process doesn't require you to have a diploma, then I can say college might not be necessary for the others as everything can be taught in the internet today. However, the process of learning should always have to undergo a series of lectures in the right order, and that's what the professors and teachers are there for.
Learning on your own could be a bit challenging. I can say, getting a degree plus learning over the internet should be the best option.

For many professions, an academic degree is still required, and I believe it will remain so for quite some time. What has changed is that, before, the standard was to graduate, get a job in your field of study, have stability, and start a family; that's how it used to work. Nowadays, it's not like that anymore, and much of this is due to the fact that anyone with knowledge, without academic training, and access to the internet can start their own business and manage a company. Universities are still great sources of knowledge, research, and learning; you just need to know how to choose.

I don’t think universities are useless, but they clearly lost their monopoly a degree used to be a guarantee, now it’s more like a filter In tech and online businesses skills speak louder than papers that said, for fields like medicine or engineering you still need formal education.

Universities will fail and when they do, don't pour blame on degree rather pour blame on the poor administration of the government. They've failed in angles to erect degree power and led graduates to become completely lower and underestimated. Come to think of it, what do we call graduates that have no work and the level of unemployment in the country blowed out of proportion already. There's definitely nothing to talk about when it comes to the current affairs of country's stability.

This is not true. Not for developed countries, at least. So if the universities or education system of a country is poor, it's the country that is to blame, not the universities themselves.
The universities of working systems or economies are still the best places to get knowledge. They are not rigid or slow or lack digital literacy at all. It's quite the opposite.
A university cannot teach you everything, but what it does is broaden your mind so you accumulate knowledge on your own, if you want to. The university will prepare you for the real world. They don't need to tell you specifically that if you put $10 into an investment, it may yield a profit, but the information and knowledge they have equipped you with would help you make that decision. Of course, you still need experience to be better at it.


This is not entirely true. A degree is still as important. It's not the university's fault if you refuse to push yourself to be better. If you actually cared about learning and you got a degree from a university in a working system, you would be better than the person who just got a skill.