Is Education A Guarantee To A Successful Life?

By: Sapilo Prince Rukky

Education they say is the key to success. I still remember vividly the words of my mother, when she said "To have a successful life, you must have good education". But how true is this statement in today's reality?   

Education has been a revolution, ranging from time past to this present day. Whichever way we might want to view it, both formal and informal education have played a vital role and has impacted immensely in the societal development around the globe.

What then is education?

Most times when the word "education" pops up, people often confuse it for knowledge acquired in schools or colleges alone. I however disagree with that notion, as I wish to define education as thus: "It is the wealth of knowledge acquired by an individual after studying a particular subject matter or experiencing lives lessons that provides an understanding of something New". John Deway further puts it as "A social process, a process of living and not a preparation for future living". In this view, educators look to act with people rather on them.

Now the pertinent and mind-bothering question is; "Is education a guarantee for a successful life? It is painful and disheartening to know that most African parents think education is the only route to a successful life.

With the rate of jobless graduates in the labour market, it is therefore necessary to ask, "Is a bachelor's degree going to pay off? This is one question every student and parent should answer before investing thousands in tuition fees as an universities can not offer a firm guarantee of a return on investment in that expensive piece of paper. 

In my opinion; to an extent education is not a guarantee for lives success. Therefore, it will be wrong to say it is or totally agree to it, because Nigeria's educational system has greatly declined as graduates are most times half-baked. Also, there are graduates who are lazy and still begs for food and money from their parents, uncle and auntie's because they couldn't get a white-collar job.

However, to a large extend, education enhances your success in life, it distinguishes one as a learned person in the society, it gives one an insight to a particular field or subject matter, it makes one rational in thinking, it gives you fore-sight into the future, it mould and makes you a better person in the society, it takes you further towards achieving your dreams.   

There are many layers to being successful and education prepares us for these layers so we can reach our full potential and be trusted with more responsibility. It is important to note that an educated person is more likely to be successful than an uneducated person. At this juncture I will like to bring to your notice that one of the world most richest man, Bill Gate and the most richest in Africa Alinko Dangote, Mark Zuggerberg are all not graduates. "I failed my exams but my friend passed, and now he is an engineer in microsoft and I am the owner" those are the exact words of Bill Gate. 

Am not trying to justify that education is not good or important, but parents and students should have a rethink about prioritising education as a major gateway to a successful life.   

Success is not compulsorily tied to education but it is advisable to be educated but more importantly, you need to discover your purpose.