College degrees: Reasonably overrated?

According to the Wall Street journal, “India Graduates Millions, But Too Few Are Fit to Hire.” Our education system may be a very controversial and expansive topic, however as of now, a debate on the legitimacy of college degrees has been arising. What are college degrees anyway? They are a material proof of academic ranks awarded by colleges and universities on the completion of a course.

But does the future of an individual have to be based on this mere piece of paper? Although in contemporary times, college degrees are vital for almost all professions, it leaves out various other aspects that mold that individual. Also, degrees are in some or the other way a representation of grades. Exams cannot always be trusted to determine a person’s aptitude and capability.

A dyslexic person may not be able to write an exam as well as an entity without dyslexia and thus won’t get equal opportunities, however he may have a better skill set than the other. Thus, in my opinion, for one day of the test to determine your future is in fact quite petty. This idea in the minds of all civilians, including the ones that claim to be modernised and up-to-date on the developments in the world is what causes hypocrisy in the Indian system of education.

Indian companies are the largest examples of such logic. For somebody to start a career, a whole portfolio has to be maintained; when getting a job abroad it should consist of community service, extra-curricula and job experiences along with marks; in India however, the brand value of our college degree makes up for 99% of it. As a result of this convention, the Indian universities and schooling systems are not as recognized as the ones overseas.

The weightage given to marks and grades for not only jobs, but even college admissions is highly distressing and is the sole reason behind the suffrage of education in our country apart from the monotonous teaching structure in institutions. Furthermore, Indian tests like CBSE board exams and International tests like SAT’s are poles apart – syllabus wise.

In the Indian philosophy of education, it is believed that everything a person learns here is prescribed; there is no room for the broadening of knowledge and thus it has sculpted the attitude of the world similarly. Because of these reasons, degrees from Indian education systems are not considered as trustworthy or valuable as the ones abroad.

A degree, besides being irrelevant to determine talent, also destroys a person’s passion to study and become what ‘THEY’ aim to become. Parents want their kids to acquire mainstream careers and further differentiate these options on the basis of gender… Money spent on getting degrees is also ridiculously high and although it is higher for universities abroad, I personally feel that as per the choice and curriculum abroad, the money is worth it.

This is also one of the main reasons why students tend to want to study abroad instead of in India: It gives them exposure. College degrees and skills don’t work conjointly in this country. As one of the arguments mentioned above, the establishment of the college also plays a heavy role. Families feel that a stamp from a renowned college can guarantee a good career, however this is not the case.

An anonymous unemployed IITian recently wrote on a forum, about his condition after graduating from IIT Bombay- a highly acclaimed university about all his “high school colleagues” graduating from private and less renowned universities who were currently employed and doing exceptionally well.

Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Auto Company, never graduated high school, let alone college; yet he went on to open one of the largest automobile companies in the world. Even Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg are college dropouts but have still made eminent personalities of themselves. Inferring from these examples, I would like to demonstrate that college degrees are not a requirement for success, even though the practical world and society in general make it one.

By Meghna Gupta