An extraordinary number of school and college pupils in the Kingdom began their semester exams earlier in the week. For many, it will be the semi-final step in their last year of high school. They perhaps more than most are at a crossroads. Some of them who are heading for higher education are perhaps driven by the obsession of parents who feel that only a university degree will validate their children and allow them to seek preferential employment. Their offspring often have no say in the matter as they are shoved rather than guided toward such a journey. And with the lure of the Kingdom's scholarship program that grants free education to college bound students, many students will have jumped on the bandwagon whether it suits them or not. This country is desperately short of qualified vocational training institutes that could teach our future generation that a nation does not only run on office managers and directors. It needs plumbers, electricians, welders, carpenters and a host of other skills that build the country. The churning out of graduates in impressive numbers by our universities does not do much good if these graduates do not possess the basic skills needed to replace a light bulb. This raises another question. Do all Saudis need to have a degree? Is it a social trend that is creating pressure for one and all to seek a college degree? Those who are not earnest or committed enough or others who may just not be too bright may find the call of a diploma mill appealing. It's only the transfer of money and very little mental effort on the part of the recipient, and soon enough a snazzy and impressive piece of paper is in one's hands sure to impress any human resources manager. There have also been a few cases where such degree holders were prompted by social pressure and not employment. Such people surrounded by a group of graduates found it necessary to validate their standing among the group, and the diploma mill was the most expedient method. It appears to be a peculiar social ritual that every young man or woman should enter into higher education and come out holding a university degree. Such a principle could push some to take the easier route of buying bogus degrees from greedy charlatans willing to prey on needy pupils. This is a common problem in most GCC countries as media reports have confirmed the existence of shadow companies who produce authentic appearing university degrees for a price and sell them to those students who are not inclined to grind it out. It is time to re-engineer our thinking about the necessity of higher education and that all Saudis must go to university after finishing high school. We have diluted our education system and overproduced PhD graduates who now outnumber the jobs available. Rejuvenate existing technical colleges, business and vocational centers, and create new ones. Look into the successful vocational programs in progressive countries and adopt such measures. Let us groom a cadre of craftsmen valued for their needed services to the community and to the nation. This is what the country needs most; a nation of capable and qualified hands-on and skilled individuals and not an inflated bunch of idle high-level graduates. The Ministry of Education must recognize that skills training is just as important as higher education. A skilled plumber is far more useful to society than a PhD graduate in geography. At least to a growing nation, that's how it should be.
— The author can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena
