Africa,s problem is trusting paper degree over skills and knowledge

[Asiska02]

It is not in Africa alone, I think the same situation is happening in our country as well where unemployment and underemployment are high, because the curriculum in schools is not yet updated with the recent demands worldwide.

We are taught to study so we can find a good job after we graduate, but after experiencing all that myself, I feel there is still something lacking, and I would say 50% of my knowledge was learned outside school. By being active online, especially in the forum, it made me smarter, and now I do not work anymore, I started my own business and created jobs for people, I just got out of the rat race.

So many schools around the world especially in Africa that I know focus more on theory than practicals and this has made the degree you’ve achieved not enough to give you a decent job or have an edge over those that never went through school and are more practical oriented than you are.

After school, you’ll still need to learn practical skills that will give you a chance in the competitive market that’s outside and sort out for experienced people more over what you have in papers as a degree holder. Being able to sort yourself out and be self employed is the best and highest peak of your skill and knowledge you can show that you have.

[abhiseshakana]

One of the disease eating up Africa's development was the brainwashed the European slave masters gave to them about school. They were taught how to read and write what the Europeans wrote,no skills attached,no knowledge just know how to read and write. Today, the world has gone beyond you just acquiring degrees to you acquiring skills and knowledge. The world economy is been revolutionized and Africa lacks the man power to do that . Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

I think your conclusion based on phenomenon faced by many African and  developing countries such as high unemployment rate, many graduates fiddicult find suitable job related with their study, only primary sector developing where middle and advanced industries still lagging behind which cause economy dependence on primary sector which mean no njeed high qualified skilled people. This condition bring brain drain due to limited opportunity, this is exacarbated by mismatch between available study with job market/ mot aliged with industry need, and no place fotr practical. All the condition bring people conclusion (including OP) that education is useless, school only create individuals who are academically intelligent but lack practical experience.

Based on my experiences in my country paper degree and certification not only a sheet of paper, although certification does not guarantee our quality, but it is a proove that ensuring we have gone through the education process and met certain competency standards. Beside that, some of profession cannot be executed by independent learning. Reading and writing are foundation of knowledge, without it world will face generational degradation, and nowdays we have found many of these degradation problem in our kids.

Just try to imagine, engineering, programmmer, researcher or entrepreneur without literacy, they will not have ability to understand information, analysing data and continue learning. Africa may also lack educators who can package and serve knowledge in a delicious way, which will  make student are enthusiast to consume knowledge.

[viljy]

Of course, I am not an expert on Africa, but it seems to me that there are much more serious problems in Africa than the discrepancy between a diploma and an actual qualification... For example, there are outbreaks of dangerous diseases. Low standard of living of the population. Corruption. These are much more important issues than the level of education. In my opinion, the most important indicator of big problems is the outgoing migration flows, which are typical for Africa and Central Asia. So problems in education are hardly the cause of all this.

[davis196]

One of the disease eating up Africa's development was the brainwashed the European slave masters gave to them about school. They were taught how to read and write what the Europeans wrote,no skills attached,no knowledge just know how to read and write. Today, the world has gone beyond you just acquiring degrees to you acquiring skills and knowledge. The world economy is been revolutionized and Africa lacks the man power to do that . Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

Wasn't learning to read and write the first skill, that is necessary for learning other skills? Can you learn programming, if you don't know how to read and write? Using a computer requires proper knowledge of how to read and write.
The "European slave masters" are teaching their own kids about the importance of having good education and learning how to "read and write".
How is this "brainwashing"?
The conventional education systems and paper diplomas are slowly losing value all around the globe, that's not just an African thing. The problem with Africa is the lack of mass education, due to lack of enough government funding.
"Africans attend universities to learn MORE than what they learn in schools" Yes. Isn't that the whole point of attending a university?

[G_Besar]

One of the disease eating up Africa's development was the brainwashed the European slave masters gave to them about school. They were taught how to read and write what the Europeans wrote,no skills attached,no knowledge just know how to read and write. Today, the world has gone beyond you just acquiring degrees to you acquiring skills and knowledge. The world economy is been revolutionized and Africa lacks the man power to do that . Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

Reading and writing are actually important for everyone because they can generate more knowledge, allowing ordinary people to be inspired to act on what they've read and to make plans by writing them down when they want to do something. So, I don't think there's anything wrong with that, as everyone is required to be more discerning about whatever they read and write. On the other hand, there are also situations that require everyone to be able to read well without writing, such as the current economic conditions and the current global world situation.

I've never been against education, as it's necessary and important for everyone to pursue. However, if some people only view education as a means to a degree, perhaps their understanding of education is too limited. All the intelligent people we see today also experienced basic education, allowing them to pursue their thinking in a more diverse direction today.

[Cheema02]

One of the disease eating up Africa's development was the brainwashed the European slave masters gave to them about school. They were taught how to read and write what the Europeans wrote,no skills attached,no knowledge just know how to read and write. Today, the world has gone beyond you just acquiring degrees to you acquiring skills and knowledge. The world economy is been revolutionized and Africa lacks the man power to do that . Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

Its totally wrong and unfair to say Africans are less educated and they need just read and write because they just some extra skill based education. But the actual problem is not the education and just a misunderstanding about how modern economies can be run. There are lot of African's who currently serving to health, education and economy and if give them extra attention more people can be seen. Colonial education is the old method and currently not have a great impact because reforming education method is now used and it's actually the updated form of old methods. Many developed countries investing more than more economies on research and technical studies so through this process they generate more opportunities and ultimately they becomes the strong economies of the world. Digrees are still useful but when it meet with practical and Africans are very intelligent guy but they don't have resources to chase invest in innovations and research.

[juttsab@]

Its totally wrong and unfair to say Africans are less educated and they need just read and write because they just some extra skill based education. But the actual problem is not the education and just a misunderstanding about how modern economies can be run. There are lot of African's who currently serving to health, education and economy and if give them extra attention more people can be seen. Colonial education is the old method and currently not have a great impact because reforming education method is now used and it's actually the updated form of old methods. Many developed countries investing more than more economies on research and technical studies so through this process they generate more opportunities and ultimately they becomes the strong economies of the world. Digrees are still useful but when it meet with practical and Africans are very intelligent guy but they don't have resources to chase invest in innovations and research.

I completely understand your concern and your point that skills are very important in today's technological world as compared to just paper degrees, practical skills, experience having problem solving ability is very valuable in different industries, businesses freelancing but it is not fully fair to just say that degrees are having no value, degrees still give basic knowledge discipline in  different fields like engineering and law.The real problem is not degree versus skills but it is that gap between education and the job requirement skills in some places. In many countries around the globe including Africa the mostly education system is focusing too much on theory rather than the practical training, in ideal situation both theory and practical should go with each other and a person who have a degree should have strong skills to get the best jobs and be successful in changing global economy.

[Callido]

One of the disease eating up Africa's development was the brainwashed the European slave masters gave to them about school. They were taught how to read and write what the Europeans wrote,no skills attached,no knowledge just know how to read and write. Today, the world has gone beyond you just acquiring degrees to you acquiring skills and knowledge. The world economy is been revolutionized and Africa lacks the man power to do that . Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

There is a very high difference between education and academics, and this difference exist between school knowledge and individual knowledge which has significantly shown its effects in the country's relevance with value. Many people misunderstand these two concepts and some prioritize academics over education which could be seen as misplaced priority.

It is important to note that both education and academics are valued assets but one guarantees individual brilliance over the other. There is no use for a paper degree without a skill or knowledge about what the degree entails.

[Cookdata]

One of the disease eating up Africa's development was the brainwashed the European slave masters gave to them about school. They were taught how to read and write what the Europeans wrote,no skills attached,no knowledge just know how to read and write. Today, the world has gone beyond you just acquiring degrees to you acquiring skills and knowledge. The world economy is been revolutionized and Africa lacks the man power to do that . Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

Better stop this mango tree discussion on world connected forum. What's brainwashed about school? Do you read about colonialism or is it only Africans the west colonized? What about Indians that were colonized by Britain? They have the one of the largest population in Asia and they are very advanced than any other countries. I don't think there is any country that comes close except for South Africa which is 50% dominated by some white, their presence made it better, so what's this you are talking about.

Complained everyday about colonialism system that ended years ago and we can't fix broken Africa for years, we have gotten our independence for years that many things should have been put in place but our political system has put us backward as if we are still in stone age. The problem of Africa isn't the system, it's the people who are in the system and until it's fix, there will be no major development across Africa or some struggling countries Africa with bad leadership, change is needed.

[Rebirth01]

The primary role of education is to read and write and at the end you are giving one paper called degree. Note,am not saying education is bad or wrong to aquire it but my problem with it is the advantage given to to it above vocational studies. Vocational schools are far better than just the normal learning how to read and write education. Vocational education gives you the opportunity to read and write and at the end you aquire a skill. Now if you graduate from vocational institute, you either use your skills if the degree is rendered useless because of lack of job opportunities. In modern economies today, the degree alone cannot solve the financial problems. A work man or a skilled person today in my country earns more than the degree holder . Someone with vocational skills and the degree is far better than the one with just the degree. The colonial intruders lay emphasis on reading and writing only and that causes a slow down in development. How can a people develop without skills, how can a people develop with just papers called degree . The developed countries did not just placed premium on paper degrees alone rather practical education was introduced early and the rest is history.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

I won't say we lack the manpower since Africa has some of the best looking and working men in the world but what I will say is that we lack the skill power which that isn't taught in schools but we focus all our life especially the early years of our life attending schools and just fighting to get the honorary degrees that have no value except bragging status to our fellow Africans. Africa need a revolution and that can only be achieved by changing the school curriculum, we got stuck in the old ways the westerners taught us meanwhile the westerners have futurized their teaching but we Africans we are still stuck in the old way of learning. We have to brushing up all our school curriculum and teach the youth on how to have better impact in the economy of Africa and the world at large, I won't discard learning through high school, college or university but I will also add skills acquisition in the mix to make everything blend perfectly.

[SuperBitMan]

Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

I won't say we lack the manpower since Africa has some of the best looking and working men in the world but what I will say is that we lack the skill power which that isn't taught in schools but we focus all our life especially the early years of our life attending schools and just fighting to get the honorary degrees that have no value except bragging status to our fellow Africans. Africa need a revolution and that can only be achieved by changing the school curriculum, we got stuck in the old ways the westerners taught us meanwhile the westerners have futurized their teaching but we Africans we are still stuck in the old way of learning. We have to brushing up all our school curriculum and teach the youth on how to have better impact in the economy of Africa and the world at large, I won't discard learning through high school, college or university but I will also add skills acquisition in the mix to make everything blend perfectly.

You are right, all we need to do in Africa is to change our school curriculum to a better one, our African schools focus more and only in reading and writing exams but in the western world they just don’t focus in reading and writing exams only they focus in being productive and they do more of practical work in school, in Africa universities someone who studied electrical engineering can come out of school after 5 years and still don’t know how to wire a house or even do some basic electrical work and that’s because they don’t do practical they focus more on theory’s. So our school curriculum really needs to be changed so that when someone who studied electrical, civil, computer, mechanical engineering in school comes out they can immediately establish themselves because they already know their job very well.

Another thing I’m worried about is how long we spend in school, in Nigeria for example to study any engineering course you will spend 5 years in the university which is too long, they are simply wasting time and years of young people, in UK an engineering degree will take you 3 years for a Bachelor’s degree (BEng) and 4 years for an integrated Master’s degree (MEng), which combines undergraduate and master’s studies.
A lot needs to be changed in our Educational System.

[Pi-network314159]

One of the disease eating up Africa's development was the brainwashed the European slave masters gave to them about school. They were taught how to read and write what the Europeans wrote,no skills attached,no knowledge just know how to read and write. Today, the world has gone beyond you just acquiring degrees to you acquiring skills and knowledge. The world economy is been revolutionized and Africa lacks the man power to do that . Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

You are right at some point, but I think Africans are the ones making things more difficult for themselves. A person who wants to learn fast will learn from other peoples mistake. For example, if the Europeans brainwashed our forefathers to believing that education is everything and they fell for that trap, what about the current generation? Are they not soposed to be wise enough to see that what the colonial Master though the forefathers didn't favor them that much, and they should retrace back their steps? We can not keep blaming this people when people who claim to be wise now are still making thesame mistake the past generation did. Education to me is just an avenue to learn how to read and write just to communicate with anyone in the world with English since it's a general language, but the extent people make educate look it's quite disgusting. they make it look like culture where if you have not finished everything you are not qualified to be among the educated people. And this make everyone striving to graduate even when they can't afford it, and meanwhile some had the opportunity to learn skill after knowing how to read and write. It is just unfortunate how African treat education.

[henmark]

One of the disease eating up Africa's development was the brainwashed the European slave masters gave to them about school. They were taught how to read and write what the Europeans wrote,no skills attached,no knowledge just know how to read and write. Today, the world has gone beyond you just acquiring degrees to you acquiring skills and knowledge. The world economy is been revolutionized and Africa lacks the man power to do that . Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

There is a very high difference between education and academics, and this difference exist between school knowledge and individual knowledge which has significantly shown its effects in the country's relevance with value. Many people misunderstand these two concepts and some prioritize academics over education which could be seen as misplaced priority.

It is important to note that both education and academics are valued assets but one guarantees individual brilliance over the other. There is no use for a paper degree without a skill or knowledge about what the degree entails.

Education is really very important. Recently, I have seen a trend among the GenZ's. They just need a reason to hate schools and OP is just giving them one. We should not really be against education but against those premium institutions who charge hefty money for the same knowledge available outside. None of the countries can develop if education was never given a priority. Education not just teaches us how to read and write but teaches us the real importance of life. There will be no doctors and engineers if there was no education.

Education is important but has now turned out not to be reliable to be financially free. With education, we need to invest in learning new skills because that is what will make us financially free. Education can just be treated as a base to learn new things or acquire new skills.

[Franklyn-wood]

One of the disease eating up Africa's development was the brainwashed the European slave masters gave to them about school. They were taught how to read and write what the Europeans wrote,no skills attached,no knowledge just know how to read and write. Today, the world has gone beyond you just acquiring degrees to you acquiring skills and knowledge. The world economy is been revolutionized and Africa lacks the man power to do that . Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

There is a very high difference between education and academics, and this difference exist between school knowledge and individual knowledge which has significantly shown its effects in the country's relevance with value. Many people misunderstand these two concepts and some prioritize academics over education which could be seen as misplaced priority.

It is important to note that both education and academics are valued assets but one guarantees individual brilliance over the other. There is no use for a paper degree without a skill or knowledge about what the degree entails.

Education is really very important. Recently, I have seen a trend among the GenZ's. They just need a reason to hate schools and OP is just giving them one. We should not really be against education but against those premium institutions who charge hefty money for the same knowledge available outside. None of the countries can develop if education was never given a priority. Education not just teaches us how to read and write but teaches us the real importance of life. There will be no doctors and engineers if there was no education.

Education is important but has now turned out not to be reliable to be financially free. With education, we need to invest in learning new skills because that is what will make us financially free. Education can just be treated as a base to learn new things or acquire new skills.

Educational systems have been commercialized in a way that some how many are beginning to replace literacy with hustle which are should not be.
I we take away education  from our struggle we will remain in darkness or illiteracy that is more dangerous than the stinks of poverty.
I went to a party and a man said to be very rich was called to be the chairman of the occasion, but he refused because he couldn't speak English fluently. Look at that kind of embarrassment, if he was educated, speaking English well wouldn't have been a problem that will stop him from being active  in that occasion.

[Rockstarguy]

One of the disease eating up Africa's development was the brainwashed the European slave masters gave to them about school. They were taught how to read and write what the Europeans wrote,no skills attached,no knowledge just know how to read and write. Today, the world has gone beyond you just acquiring degrees to you acquiring skills and knowledge. The world economy is been revolutionized and Africa lacks the man power to do that . Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

They gave the basic thing, which is to read and to write, and if you can do this, you can get whatever skill you want. The worst thing is not having the basic form of education, which is to read and how to write. For Africa, getting reading and writing skills leaves them to acquire every other skill through the education they already have and the resources they possess. It is impossible to get everything at once, but you can, as well, use what you have to gain many things. Africa's lack of skills is a result of failed leadership and corruption. If Africa had competent leaders, they would have brought about good development, such that you don't even need a degree to succeed in life. Instead of going to college, you can choose to build your skills, which will be a source of livelihood for you.

[Davidvictorson]

One of the disease eating up Africa's development was the brainwashed the European slave masters gave to them about school. They were taught how to read and write what the Europeans wrote,no skills attached,no knowledge just know how to read and write. Today, the world has gone beyond you just acquiring degrees to you acquiring skills and knowledge. The world economy is been revolutionized and Africa lacks the man power to do that . Africans just attend universities to learn  more than what they learnt in primary and secondary schools.

Hold up… it is not black or white. It can also be grey as well.
The so called paper degree also grants the student skills and knowledge as well.
These degree help one to gain soft and hard skills. Soft skills include critical thinking , communication skills, emotional intelligence skills and many others which are critical in paving the way for the hard skills.
What is happening in Africa specifically Western Africa is that these institutions of higher learning are underfunded. And so it seems it is a waste of time and resources learning which is not true.

[Makus]

Having a degree has become so valued to the point where people think that it will automatically take them out of poverty but that's not really how it works especially in Africa. It takes a lot of time to get a job after getting a degree unless you have some sort of connection that works for you otherwise it's important to have a skill that you can make you self employed in the meantime while you keep on waiting for a job. A lot of people don't understand how it important having a skill is until they end up wasting a lot of time, this ends up in regrets.

[Felicity_Tide]

We have to brushing up all our school curriculum and teach the youth on how to have better impact in the economy of Africa and the world at large, I won't discard learning through high school, college or university but I will also add skills acquisition in the mix to make everything blend perfectly.

Your observation is spot on, and you made a valid point. We're still very much stuck in the illusion of 'the best reader with a better retentive gets a better degree". Too Many theory to learn, but they don't prepare children for the complex side of the labour market. This issue of outdated curriculum is still a big problem that a lot of schools across Africa are struggling to escape. In Nigeria currently, and afaik, it's still a gradual process, but the gradual process doesn't look gradual at all. And that's why a lot of graduates often act surprise when they see the level of competition in the labour market, after graduation.

[Mr Reporter]

It is not in Africa alone, I think the same situation is happening in our country as well where unemployment and underemployment are high, because the curriculum in schools is not yet updated with the recent demands worldwide.

We are taught to study so we can find a good job after we graduate, but after experiencing all that myself, I feel there is still something lacking, and I would say 50% of my knowledge was learned outside school. By being active online, especially in the forum, it made me smarter, and now I do not work anymore, I started my own business and created jobs for people, I just got out of the rat race.

So many schools around the world especially in Africa that I know focus more on theory than practicals and this has made the degree you’ve achieved not enough to give you a decent job or have an edge over those that never went through school and are more practical oriented than you are.

After school, you’ll still need to learn practical skills that will give you a chance in the competitive market that’s outside and sort out for experienced people more over what you have in papers as a degree holder. Being able to sort yourself out and be self employed is the best and highest peak of your skill and knowledge you can show that you have.

You are very correct like this a big pains in the ass of so many graduates today in my country just like me anytime I even think of it it just killing honestly, well you have just made a very big point out of this self…like the theory part in the education system feel more like a high and bigger trap especially here in my country Degree vs Skill…

just imagine the sleepless nights you go through, all the 4 years+ you have spent all the ways just to memorizing some piece of definitions, writing exams, passing courses and and when it time to get a job for yourself the employers begin to ask some key questions like “ like you if you are that good at c++ or any programmer language or if you are even good at some easy Excel?”

Or can you fix this part of can you repair this and the paper you are fighting for couldn’t even get you a good paycheck job…but check this out a guy that doesn’t went to school for a day just learn’s repairing computer systems or laptop without going to school and he is doing well for him self…and the bitter truth is that this guys who learned this skill by the road side is making over 400k per months…school teaches you to pass but labor market’s teaches you to solve real life challenges and handle them with care…