Today, Christina and I had an interesting conversation with a young man who has just finished studying Computer Science for the past three years.
We were a bit surprised when he mentioned that, even though he is now a degree holder and is looking for a job, he does not want to work in IT. In fact, he told us that he does not like Computer Science a lot.
Naturally we asked him why he chose to study Computer Science given that he had other areas of interest and his answer was revealing: “No one helped me choose and I chose badly!”
A lack of guidance
The professional world is becoming more and more complex. New jobs and career possibilities are being created on a daily basis. Unfortunately, young people are not being advised properly:
- Some parents decide for their children without asking them what they are passionate about. I feel that some of the lawyers, doctors, accountants, and, now, finance people and computer scientists are not very happy in their profession. Of course, they might be getting a nice enough salary but nothing beats doing something which you like.
- The career guidance service, which exists in principle in secondary schools, is outdated. As I wrote above, new jobs and career possibilities are being created on a daily basis. It is difficult to keep abreast of those changes. I can imagine that some of the career guidance officers (who have mostly never worked in the private sector) are quite at a loss when having to explain to young people the career prospects in, for example, statistical analysis, digital marketing, game design or artificial intelligence.
Education can be confusing
Education comes from a Latin word which means “going outside” metaphorically, in the sense that education should be about discovering new and interesting things every day.
Unfortunately, in Mauritius, education mostly means staying inside and getting a degree. My point is that a lot of young people go through years and years of schooling without ever uncovering what they really like and/or what they are very good at. Of course, this becomes problematic when they have to choose subjects at Form IV, Form VI and at university.
Mauritius is a small country and we cannot afford to have unhappy and unproductive lawyers, doctors, accountants, finance people and computer scientists instead of happy and productive statistical analysts, digital marketers, game designers and AI specialists (for example).
This needs to change. What do you think?
Definitely needs a change.
But I don’t really know what solution will people accept.
Personally, I would encourage people to take care of their education by themselves with online learning instead of relying on universities. I reckon the autonomy will help them more. What do you think?
I think people choose subjects because it’s “fashionable” to choose subjects like IT, law, medicine (Did you hear how many medicine graduates can’t get a job?).
I agree. In the coming years, people will acquire knowledge a lot more online. Hopefully, they’ll develop skills in what they are passionate about… The country really needs high-caliber passionate people.
May I invite you to watch this TED talk and comment? It’s by a renowned researcher in education called Sugata Mitra. You’ll learn what his research showed how much children can accomplish with little guidance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3jYVe1RGaU
Thanks Jeshan. I’ll watch the video tonight and comment soon.
Hi Jeshan,
I have watched the video and I have to say that it’s fascinating. Sugata Mitra argues that schools are obsolete and that kids should not be “forcibly” taught anymore. Rather kids have the capacity to learn extraordinarily complex things by themselves and that they should be given the opportunity to do so.
Naturally, I agree with him. Like him, I also believe that education needs a reboot. Assumptions made 100 years ago are not true anymore. The world is changing fast… and this is especially true for Mauritius.