5 "C"s of the Society

"A country's youth is the reflection of the future society", I couldn't agree more. A person, no matter how capable, will never function forever. On the contrary, a society, no matter how crumpled, will never cease functioning. It is just a matter of whether it will get worse or prosper in time to come. This is exactly why many countries see the need to provide as much education as possible to its youth, in hope to nurture an equally good if not better batch of people to run its society, economy and the country.

I am proud to be a citizen of my country where it is said to have one of the best education system in the region. Every child has to go through 10 years of mandatory education consisting of elementary (primary) and secondary schooling. Higher education at tertiary or university level will continue to be heavily subsidize by the country so as to encourage more people to further their studies. This is a country where it has its people on its mind and take good care of them.

A child's tertiary education will cost approximately $5,500 after subsidy, over a span of 3 years (not including learning materials and monthly allowance). With our striving economy, even a family with below average financial status will be able to provide this fee. But with 3 children in the family and a combined monthly income of ~$2, 500, would they be able to provide tertiary education for them? Though they can opt for scholarships and bursaries, what if they don't meet the required standards? There is (of course) always the option of applying for a bank loan, and the banks will be more than willing to comply.

It is known that university education does not come cheap anywhere in the world. Thankfully for our benevolence country's huge subsidy, it will only cost about a whooping $25 - $100 thousands (higher fees for law, medicine, dentistry and such). MOST of the citizens can afford it. What about those who can't but have the intelligence to excel further than those who can? (3rd person's inner voice: what nonsense?! if they are that good, they can always apply for scholarships) Scholarships do not drop from the sky, they have stringent guidelines when choosing candidates. It is reasonable and logical to ask for good grades in return. But one must have a good co-curricular activities record and preferably also active in either sports, community service, arts, science or any other notable worthy contributions/awards. On top of all, one must also posses great leadership skills/qualities or potentially posses them. What? Running for president? Or scouting for the next super(wo)man? If a person cannot afford the tuition fees, the most logical guess would be, any extra time would be put into working part time to support family/himself/herself, lessen the family's burden or pay off any previous education bank loans. So scholarships are not really viable in the end, fret not, that "poor" soul can slap himself/herself with another debt to the bank (that is if previous loans have been cleared or if the bank allow another loan on top of previous ones).

Isn't it (Con)tradicting to say that education is important in the eyes of the country, but not provide an equal chance to those who simply cannot afford higher education? Since they have huge reserves (as quoted), it should be perfectly fine to sponsor these people with full tuition fee grant but without outrageous requirements. This is not asking for the stars compared to countries like Sweden and Finland where education, up to university level is paid for by the country. Alas, that will not happen here anywhere in the near future. The younger generation of parents resort to buying education/study (whatever it is called) insurances/saving plans for their children the moment they were born, just so to ensure that they will have the money to provide higher education if the children have the capabilities. Again, if education IS really that important as said, it should be the last thing on the people's mind to worry about.

There must be a good reason why it is only obligatory to complete up to secondary education. Perhaps that will be just sufficient to equip any individual for the working world and that they should not have any trouble seeking employment. Looking at the older generations where they received little or no education, it is true that they face greater difficulties when seeking employment. But comparing within the same generation, how are these secondary educated individuals going to compete with so many graduates? When the society becomes saturated with graduates, those who did not managed to secure an ideal job or jobs which match their qualification, will start vying for lower positions like an admin post, which typically only requires secondary education. (3rd person's inner voice: well someone has to do the dirty jobs, I'm sure they'll get recognize if they do it well) This is not (Con)demantion, is it? There are always the blue collared positions, the lowly paid and overworked ones around for the lower educated (provided that they get the job over "cheaper" foreigners who come over from neighboring countries). How recognize will one get in the aforementioned positions? How far do you think they can climb the corporate ladder or in the society?

For your reference, from personal experience, I've been told not just once that it is impossible to be promoted far within the organization even with the right skills, knowledge and attitudes, but without "proper" qualifications. Ah..... *revelation* were they trying to (Con)vince me that one needs to have "proper" qualification in order to prosper (in terms of monetary, status, promotions, whatever) in the society and that the current society thinks that tertiary and university education are the "proper" education and secondary education is "improper"? I am not dim-witted, I get the hint and am really convinced. So why isn't the country changing its outdated policies to make "proper" education available to everyone? Perhaps afterall they would still require a group of "loyal" citizens who will never forsake their work since they don't have much to choose from (unlike foreigners who will one day return to their home country or the higher educated who have the option of working overseas or job hop), and that will make up the foundation of the working society, preventing it from deteriorating.

For the lower educated, there are really only 2 options, either suck it up, prepare to get peanuts for sh*tload of work for the rest of their miserable maggot life while competing with cheaper foreigners and local elites, or go for further studies with the money they do not have. Oh... wait, hold a second, that is rather (Con)fusing. Money is the issue which obstructed them from obtaining higher qualifications, and thus making them stuck with the low prospect jobs, earning just enough to get by everyday life in this society of rising costs. How should they find the money for further studies in order to earn a chance at getting a better paying job? (3rd person's inner voice: since they are working already, they can now take up bank loans!) Acquiring bank loans is what many of these people do, thinking that with a higher qualification at the end of it, they will be able to secure a higher paying job and therefore be able to repay the bank loan and potentially lead a better life after that. They will soon realized that either the higher paying positions are limited, have been filled, and they will be stuck with the same job they started with, or that with a higher paying job but also a debt of a few tens of grand, their quality of life will not be improved much. When they finally clear the debt, they will also have grown older and no longer holds a competitive edge over the young and fresh graduates in terms of age. In bad times like the recent recession, it is a silent known fact that who are to be place under the guillotine first. With not much available savings throughout the years, high living expenses, whole batch of young and fresh graduates, they can only settle for the next available job they can get their hands on (usually paying the same, slightly higher or even lower than they first started off with).

Having said so much, it takes little to wonder why does it still cost so dearly for higher education even after heavy subsidization? Why are bank loans always the first option suggested by institutions when (potential) students expressed that they have financial difficulties paying tuition fees? So where does the money goes to ultimately? What exactly does the society wants? Educating and nurturing the country's youth because they are the future pillars of the society? Or educating and nurturing the country's youth only when they can pay for it? Did our people not noticed that this is a vicious cycle where the rich will get richer and the poor will only get poorer? Could it be that they have noticed but couldn't care less as long as it does not affects them? Or perhaps because we were cultured not to question the authority? Hopefully we will not end up like certain strong developed country where its people has started to think that it is all part of some (Con)spiracy plan.

PS: The above post is an expression of the obstacles, difficulties and observations of my personal quest in search of knowledge. There is absolutely no intention of flaming any individuals, institutions, organizations, countries or any other constituencies. I am a late bloomer, currently pursuing tertiary education, planning to take on university education but it does not seem possible as of now because I do not have the financial abilities. If anyone feels that I am a good investment and would like to sponsor my tuition fee, feel free to leave a message on the tagboard. Hahhaaha...