The local papers were recently full of stories on graduation ceremonies held across the country, and of the dignitaries who came to grace these functions, actively handing out diplomas to excited young men and women. Paeans from selected students and school staff were heavily reported, extolling the virtues of our education system, or heaping praise upon the guests invited to honor the occasion.
But nowhere did I see a mention of the coming trials for most of these graduates. The sad reality is that most high school graduates will have a hard time getting into our over-crowded public universities. And the limited number of private colleges and universities are out of financial reach for most of the students, with annual fees bordering on extortion.
And as for the university and college graduates, there is an even bleaker prospect of getting the jobs they seek. The truth is that most of these students are totally unprepared for the professional world. Be it language skills, or simple administrative functions, their previous training has been far too shallow for most employers to get them on board. Add to this competition from students who have graduated abroad, most of these individuals have little choice except to occupy the menial positions in the corporate world.
Time was most PR relating to the education in this country focused on the number of graduates every year, figures being churned out as if off an over-active assembly line. Little thought was given to content. A couple of decades ago, with the infrastructure in its infancy, there was always room even for the unqualified to fill a gap.
But times have changed, and the number of the unemployed is rising. Those graduates lucky enough to use connections (wasta) will probably enroll in graduate studies, either here or abroad — a stay of execution, if you will, for a few more years — preferring the safety of the educational environment rather than swimming out into the unknown.
Others may use connections to land a job. But for the bulk of these graduates, there will always be the pressure to get out there and somehow land a challenging job with prospects for growth.
And herein lies an inherent problem. The curriculum here is not in line with the needs of our local industry. In order to prepare these graduates to step in to the corporate world with minimal impact, thought must be given to what our industries want.
Dialogue should take place between the two sides, and our archaic and ineffectual curriculum must be modified to prepare these kids to face the world with the least amount of pain and humiliation.
But does our Ministry of Education possess the intuition and the initiative to take bold steps? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, these kids suffer in silence.
