Is principle of ‘less is more’ good for higher education?

Education is one of the key markers of social development and our coming of age as a country. When post-secondary education becomes accessible to a wide range of students, of varied backgrounds and both genders, we know that we have come a long way as a country. We can boast a well-educated, enlightened and cultured populace. On an individual basis, higher education is the source of much satisfaction, accomplishment and the promise of a rewarding employment.
However, an accompanying phenomenon, which has existed in Western countries for some years, is becoming more common here too. It is the syndrome of the “perpetual student,” one who is enrolled in school year after year and attains multiple degrees — clearly an uncommonly intelligent individual, and yet, one who has never held a full-time job.
It seems paradoxical (because isn’t education supposed to improve one’s employability?) but actually it isn’t, because a lack of employment opportunities is one of the things that prompt university graduates to go back to school. It’s a natural decision; if you can’t find a job after finishing your first degree, won’t going back to school improve your chances?
The problem is that, in many cases, it doesn’t. Graduates with advanced degrees but no real work experience fall into an odd gray area with regard to their employability. Their lack of experience makes them unqualified for the jobs that they might covet, while their level of education makes them ‘overqualified’ for the entry-level jobs they might otherwise be able to get. Employers are very often reluctant to hire overqualified candidates because they worry, naturally enough, that these individuals won’t be satisfied with the available position.
The lack of practical skills is also an issue. For all of these reasons, these highly educated graduates may eventually find themselves doing more of what they know — going back to school yet again. And in this way, the perpetual student is created!
Higher education is a wonderful thing. Completing an advanced degree can be one of the most satisfying experiences in one’s life. It’s a chance to see what you’re really capable of, intellectually – an opportunity to delve deeply into research and generating new knowledge, in the company of like-minded others. It’s an experience to be treasured. For many people, it’s also the key to professional promotion and a more satisfying career.
But in order to provide all of those benefits, I do believe that advanced learning has to be coupled with stints of working and experiencing the ‘real world’ and all the hands-on, canny skills and knowledge it requires.
Becoming a perpetual student all too often turns out to be frustrating instead of rewarding. What we need, then, are more professional opportunities for young people — a chance to gain a broader perspective and some economic independence, while meeting challenges that cannot possibly be recreated in a classroom. The other side of that equation is that young people themselves should recognize the value of employment, even if they don’t find their ‘dream job’ right away after graduating. Few of us do — but most of us would acknowledge that we’ve learned something valuable from every job we’ve held.
And then, when the time is right, when we have a clear goal in mind and know the steps to achieve it, we may well have the opportunity to become students again, without the fear that we’ll get stuck in that role indefinitely!