WHEN EDUCATION BECOMES INDOCTRINATION (THE UNIVERSITY IS A MUST SYNDROME)

Education is good, but can be really bad and unproductive when it becomes indoctrination.

When you talk about education and being educated in this part of the world, people are fast to think about going to the university. They see those that have access to the university education as being educated and those without the privilege as illiterates.

Having seen and experienced this, I realized: when schooling becomes indoctrination, only the truly educated ones become successful.

Now, what does it mean to be truly educated?

What does it mean to be indoctrinated?

What connection does these two have with schooling?

To answer these three significant questions, we'll need to define the nouns and verbs from which each of them is derived and analyze them.

Longman Dictionary defines education, a noun from which educated is derived as: the process by which your mind develops at school, college or university.

Indoctrinate, a verb from which indoctrination is derived, according to Longman dictionary mean: to train someone to accept a particular sets of political or religious beliefs and not consider any others.

The English dictionary defines indoctrinate as:  To teach with a biased, one-sided or uncritical ideology. To brainwash.

School, a noun from which schooling is derived is defined in the English dictionary as: an institution dedicated to teaching and learning; an educational institution.

It must be noted that school is not limited to a certain institution, it is simply any institution for learning and education can be derived from any of these institutions. It is only indoctrination that makes people glorify one ahead of the other.

Education in Nigeria has for long become indoctrination that a lot of folks have been seriously affected by this development.

Almost everyone in Nigeria belongs to the school of thought that without the university education they are not educated. Our government have not also helped in this regard too, they have so much glorified university certificates ahead of practicality and this is one of the things that leads to our rotten sectors.

Our government is ignorant of the fact that the university is just an institution among many institutions of learning that churn out professionals therefore, the polytechnics, colleges and other institutions of learning that makes up schooling, through which one can also be educated and certified have been relegated.

A polytechnic graduate is always rated lower than a university graduate regardless of the intelligence of the formal, therefore certification have taken the place of real intellectualism and technicality.

This indoctrination is a great tragedy to youth development in Nigeria and all over Africa; we have been made to believe that without university education, we are nothing better than illiterates and when you talk about intelligence, people are fast to measure it by the good grades acquired through formal education.

We also have not been studious enough to see the difference: being a university graduate does not guarantee a successful life.

The evidences are here but we couldn’t see. That's indoctrination.

It is gross waste of time to sit down and wait for admission when what you want to study in school is unrelated to what you really want to become, perhaps what you are skilled at.

It is stupidity and lack of vision to accept a change of course just to be a university student, but our society has provided us with no other choice than to "join them if we can't win them".

Everyone just want to answer the name "University Graduate” just for the sake of it, so we forgo our visions, dump our dreams for the title that comes with certificates which we might dump in our wardrobes and not make use of for the rest of our lives.

It is true no knowledge is lost, but such indoctrination comes with lesser or no profit.

For the records, not being university student doesn’t not make anyone less or illiterate,

University education with good certificate is just an achievement on its own, it might not enhance productivity or efficiency in the labour market, neither is it the most accurate determinant of both. Year in year out, young folks register for universities entrance exams (Jamb and post-UTME) and when they fail to make required grades, they are considered failures.

The ones that are tired of tying settle for colleges of educations, technical schools or polytechnics that could accept their lower grades, while the so-called determined ones, most of who have no idea what they will do with their lives continue in the struggle of rewriting universities entrance examinations.

They keep making money for the universities, when it is certain most of them have no business being university students.

Now, what does it mean to be truly educated? Going by the definition of education which according to Longman dictionary is the process by which your mind develops at school, college or university. The dictionary makers only made mention of school, college or university in order to foster understanding for layman but the true meaning of education is: The process by which mind and the whole being is developed through learning.

This learning could be acquired in any designated institutions, however; there can be no true education where there is indoctrination.

In Nigeria, we have a lot of school, college, polytechnic and university graduates that are not truly educated; what they had was indoctrination in the name of education and that is why they cannot be translated to something tangible.

Education is more about learning how to achieve one's passion and goals, while indoctrination, going by its definition is: believing what one is told or what seem convenient and best in order to avoid the stress of learning or engaging in its practicality.

In the University of Lagos, most professors and HODs won't take it lightly with you if you call them without their titles; they always punish students that make such mistakes.

That's what indoctrination has done to them, not even with their PhDs will they ever understand that calling them those titles doesn't enhance their productivity or earn them more respect, but a truly educated folk even without university education knows it is not about title or position, but the responsibility given.

That is one major difference between the truly educated person and one who is indoctrinated in the name of education.

If one who does not attend university is considered educated then who is uneducated? An uneducated person is the person who doesn’t know anything about his life's visions and goals and how to pursue them; one who does not have what it takes to succeed in his chosen lifestyle. For instance, if all you want to be in life is a footballer and you go to the university to study mechanical engineering, when you should register yourself into a football academy and develop your skills, it doesn't matter if you have PhD in it, you are simply uneducated, because PhD in mechanical engineering will never make you a better footballer.

Imagine if Messi and Ronaldo have left football academy to go to university, will they have become the famous and successful footballers that you know today?

These guys and the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, who didn't become graduates of any university, are among those who chose to be truly educated when schooling becomes indoctrination. True education means the development of the mind and the whole being through learning and putting to work what was learnt.

However, being an illiterate (Unable to read and write, having less than an expected standard of familiarity with language and literature, or having little formal education; not conforming to prescribed standards of speech or writing) basically, inability to read and write will always limit one's level of education, if one have to learn about his goals and passions except natural talents that does not require being taught in order to have them. Education could be acquired via other sources, but literacy (ability to read and write) is vital.

However, being a university student is not the proof that someone is educated. For you to be able to sit for university entrance exam you must be educated (be a literate and have at least ordinary level of formal education).That means you can be educated even without university education.

Tertiary education is not for everybody and those who are there are not superior to those who are not.

It is only a required type of education for those whose goals and dreams in life could be shaped there but if not it is a gross waste of time and wrong indoctrination.

I am not against university education and certifications, what I’m against are the indoctrination.

I want everyone to be liberated from the sick mentality that university or tertiary formal education is a must. Not everyone, judging by different skills, talents, passions and destinies and how they could be developed and attained should be in the university. If truly some of these folks knows what they want and how get them, most of them would not have thought about university education at all.

I want the parents to understand and discover their children’s passion and give them appropriate education as required by their passions and dreams instead of forcing them to the university thinking without it they will become nobody.

I don’t want our government to place more than necessary emphasis on certification; let them focus more on practical evidences of these certificates and we will have capable hands at different sectors.

I want the government and the labour market to recognize other certificates aside universities’, they should not place universities certificates ahead of those obtained from other institutions since all of them are certified institutions of learning.

I want the young folks also take their destinies in their own hands, follow their dreams and not unnecessarily crave for university education and become nuisance after graduating even with their good grades.

Remember, when schooling becomes indoctrination, only the truly educated ones become successful. To be successful in life requires more than just university education and most significant success stories in life are not as a result of it. The truly educated people are people that are original, resourceful and creative, who dream dreams and think out of the box to attain their dreams and fulfill their passions. They are those that acquire the type of education that liberate their passions and help them to reach their set goals not just university graduates.

This essay is written by Eneji Stephen Toluwalashe, popularly known as Soul’e Rhymez,

He is a Poet, a Public Speaker, and a member of Great_Minds_Initiatives_Interational.

He is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Twitter: @Soulerhymez

Facebook: Soul’e Rhymez

He wrote this for Great_Minds_Initiatives_Interational to support True Education Campaign.  He believes being truly educated against the existing indoctrination is a vital tool in restructuring the nation, restore her fortunes and make our youths become more relevant in the society.

To be a part of this initiative,(GMII) support/sponsor it, please contact Tanimola on: +2348163800077 (also available on WhatsApp).

Together we can make this country great!