Smith Sharmaine

Ms. McCormick

ENG 1010-20

01 July 2020

College Is a Scam

As the top of the education system, college attendance is the primary goal of every school-going student right from kindergarten to high school. While college was initially a pride of place for one to be in, the lack of employability of graduates in the job market has casted a shadow of doubt on its significance. In the 19th and 20th century, colleges and universities were places where young men and women were molded into responsible citizens with the aim of passing the mantle of steering the nation into prosperity to them. However, the commercialization of higher education has made attending college to no longer be a coveted experience. This is grounded on so many reasons.

First, the growth of many college institutions and commercialization of education has watered down the quality of higher education. Prior to the concept of viewing higher education as an investment with financial returns in the form of a well-paying job, there were few colleges with dedicated students and academicians who took pride in being thinkers for the society on any social issue. The limited number of colleges ensured that the quality of education offered within those citadels of knowledge was consequently very high. However, while the government’s agenda to increase literacy levels by chartering more public and private higher learning institutions was gentle, it also bore the downside of decreasing the quality of education being offered. Most colleges thus are like every other business investment centered on financial returns to their owners. Consequently, the institutions toss out half-baked graduates who are not employable in the job markets thus making college education a scam in the long run.

Secondly, most colleges offer courses that are geared towards the white collar economy where there are limited job opportunities. The deep-rooted belief of most college going students as well as graduates that they are at the top of the intellectual chain makes blue color jobs an anathema to them. Consequently, the white collar part of the job market is awash with many graduates seeking employment especially in respected professions such as Law and Engineering thus tipping the demand-supply scale in favor of employers who as a result are at liberty to lower wages in accordance with these forces of the market. With increased joblessness among graduates, there is meaning for college education.

Thirdly, most current students attend college primarily to have a record of campus experience and exposure. Higher learning institutions have recorded high numbers of drug substance abuse and sexual transmitted infections which can be primarily credited to lack of education goals and laziness among college students. According to the National Library of Medicine National Institute, more than 37% of college students have abused illegal drugs such as opioids and alcohol on a regular basis (Witt, Glassman and Federman). This is chiefly inspired by their new found personal freedom away from parental supervision and frequent partying in campuses. Similarly, studies show that one in every four college students have or has ever had a sexually transmitted disease and more than 80% of them have no noticeable symptoms (Allen,2017). Both of these statistics show a high level of laziness due to lack of purpose in higher education for most college students. To them college is a place where they explore their bodies and discover themselves.

In conclusion, most learners no longer find meaning in going to college and if they do, most are motivated by freedom from control by their parents after high school as well as the chance to have control over their own finances in the form of student loans. This is because most do not think going to college will lead to any job preferring self-employment instead.

References

Witt, D., Glassman, T. A., Federman, S., & Bott, K. (2017). The Case for Implementing the Levels of Prevention Model: Opiate Abuse on American College Campuses. Journal of American College Health, 518-512.

Allen, W. (2017). Increasing Knowledge of Preventing Sexually Transmitted Infections in Adult College Students through Video Education: An Evidenced-based Approach. ABNF Journal, 28(3).