Dear Editor,

Growing up, many of us were accustomed to hearing the adage “Education is the key to success.” Undeniably, this statement carried much weight and had significant impact on many people, particularly those who were from poverty-stricken and marginalised backgrounds.

We have witnessed countless success stories on televised programmes and read many feature stories in newspapers. In fact, one of the aspirations of many young people was to secure a slot on
Profile — a programme hosted on Television Jamaica (TVJ) which highlighted the rags to riches life stories of its guests. The many victory stories served as a motivation to exercise resilience and do well in school in order to “come out to something good”.

Today, there are many who still believe a good education is the only route to transform their lives, taking them from poverty to prosperity. They are dedicated to their studies, enduring the rigours of academic life, and making the requisite financial investments and sacrifices to attain a better life, especially in a developing economy with many social inequalities and inequities.

However, with the propagation of social media and influencer culture, has there been a shift in attitude towards education? Have we noticed that there is a boom in nefarious activities, such as scamming, which promotes a get-rich-quick mentality to which a growing number of our young people are subscribing?

What then is the role of education in the 21st century when we have many rich criminals, but even more broke graduates?

Social media platforms, particularly TikTok, which has become the subject of recent bans mainly on government devices in many countries, and a possible full ban in the United States in a couple days, has been the go-to educational tool for many people. In fact, we could say that many Jamaicans attend ‘TikTok University’, as they spend an incredible amount of time on the platform for entertainment, gossip, community news, do it yourself (DIY) lessons, get ready with me (GRWM) sessions, dance routines, motivational quotes, and vacation and restaurant reviews, among many other things.

Given that TikTok and other platforms such as YouTube are monetised, to what extent are many of our young people motivated to pursue formal education when they can make millions through content creation and entertaining people without much cognitive rigour?

Even with the dismal academic performance of students in our education system, it is obvious that education is still necessary for the growth and development of our people and economy.

While, in principle, employees should be compensated well for their expertise, pursuing formal education is not solely about monetary gains. Education helps to build our analytical, critical, and problem-solving skills. It helps to elevate our thinking and propels us to question and explore different ways to solve issues.

Additionally, education helps us to co-exist and demonstrate respect and tolerance towards others, even when we share divergent views. A lack of education and emotional intelligence shows how ‘ignorant’ many among us are.

Education should bring transformation and prepare graduates for the future as best as possible. Although difficult, academic leaders have to keep abreast of trends that will influence future employment and update syllabi to respond to same.

Furthermore, with all the ‘wokeness’ and corruption happening in our world, education invites us to contemplate issues surrounding ethics, morals, and integrity, as well as areas of social justice and inclusion.

Our universities have critical questions to answer: Are we adjusting quickly enough? Are our programmes reflecting the current and future workforce needs? Are our assessment types equipping students with the competences needed? Are our courses of studies too lengthy? Are we really 21st century universities?

Oneil Madden

Maddenoniel@yahoo.com