Undergraduate Education - Investment for life or a short term ROI plan?
As parents, we often wonder about what and how much we ought to spend on education…. And this is a quandary that we face at various levels – UG, PG, Executive Education, Specializations abroad and the list goes on. But the actual question we are all raring to ask is, what is the ROI?
Go back to the 80’s – Graduation was the grand idea of educational achievement which sequentially transitioned the consumer into the employment sector successfully – this was the circle of time and money invested and the yester generation was very happy with the results. Come 90’s we saw a shift… UG started losing momentum and PG started climbing the ladder. And this brought along phenomenal aspiration quotient into going abroad for the PG specializations. The IT boom helped fuel this mentality and more of us than less, sought this direction to find our career destination. Now, let’s take stock of today’s reality. UG has become a paper value proposition, which is only so good as it pushes the student to the next level of PG or if the dream is not to soar, then a job… not a career but a job.
What we are failing to understand, or rather being short sighted is the importance of UG education in today’s competitive world. While it remains to only hold paper value, what it can do and must do to the student is to broaden his horizons – make him a thinking professional – build the quintessential Life skills which will in turn trigger a managerial outlook with an entrepreneurial vision. Industries are calling for progressive individuals with a quest to succeed, who believe in playing a team, who are innovative with a risk appetite. These are traits that must be inculcated right at the fundamental stages of college life, when the baton of education passes on from the Schools to the UG space. Hence the need for a qualitative experience, that is built around a robust learning platform, which offers not a fragmented learning environment, but one which is holistic in nature that is more about concepts rather than specifics.
At the #Indian School of Hospitality, we have invested ourselves into building a curriculum that revolves around Life skills – however, with a well-defined road map of the Hospitality industry and Culinary skill development. There are many such maverick institutions who have become cornerstones for setting this far sighted approach – Ashoka University, O P Jindal to name a few. A very conscious and steady attempt is being made right at our backyard to elevate the quality of UG education experience and as parents, we must open our minds to the bigger picture.
Time is right for us as influencers and decisions makers, to understand that an undergraduate degree shall provide the foundation for a life of accomplishment, as against giving fragmented returns by way of a first job or the few thousands earned. We must pause and take cognizance of the greater good achieved by the student generation instead of hunting and settling for materialistic proof of incomes that will, in hindsight justify the UG investment. Immediate point of focus must be to quit limiting learning towards monetary value… admittedly, these views are a result of the rising cost of education at large – how does one respond to this? Questions that need pondering over….
While we can’t answer all questions in this forum, suffice to say, undergraduate education is the most imperative investment for the student generation…. One that affirms an individual’s fundamental skills, gives the students the right set of qualities that will help them harness their true potential…. Gives them a solid learning start which builds longevity and is rewarding in a lifelong career span.
We must invest in the UG education phase smartly and equip our students with the right skillsets which will take them onto the next level – as they move step after step, these fundamental skills engrained in them, will further amplify their learning quest and push them towards capitalising on their strengths and inculcate those skills that they do not have – So, let us not view this space with blinkers on. Let us invest, encourage and inform about the UG space – as we owe it to the next gen Z to learn more, do more and accomplish more!
I feel very passionately about this space and I welcome comments and opinions from all of you! Do read and share!
#Parents, #Life long learning, #21ST Century Skills