UNIVERSITIES: OVERPRICED AND OVERRATED? PLAYING DEVIL'S ADVOCATE..

I am going to be wickedly sharp in this post. I do believe our current "educational" structure is GROSSLY overrated and underperforming in terms of global economic activity. I do not have figures here, but refer you to a debate on the subject held by Adelaide University in conjunction with the St James Ethics Centre http://www.abc.net.au/tv/bigideas/stories/2012/08/20/3569339.htm

With the huge influx to higher education, we were bequeathed hugh debts, academic hierarchies, dysfunctional departments and quixotic course content. I applaud the return to liberal degree programmes. [Sad to admit, I have met law lecturers who would "critique" Kant from a post-modern perspective without having read Kant in the first place! : (   ] And on the theme of postmodernism, well, the less said about po-mo (with rare exceptions) the better!

If our current degreed "leadership" is any indication, therefore, degrees have declined - ignoring the rare talents we do produce - to signify virtually NOTHING about a candidate's prospects in the workplace. Indeed, those candidates who rest on their credentialed laurels are singularly unsuited to a fast-paced, hands-on environment. Naturally, the workplace does require employees who can think independently, critically and flexibly with respect to personnel, products and process. But does our current tenured leadership encourage such independence of thought???

To be very cruel, a majority of the lecturers I encountered in law and in arts I wouldn't suffer to employ. They were driven by internal politics and lacked creativity. Outside a rigid curriculum, they were lost for words. (An observation I believe supports the value of reading primary texts, not footnoted articles). As I said before, there ARE RARE EXCEPTIONS.

ECONOMICALLY,  OUR ONLY PURPOSE SHOULD BE TO WIN

So let's get real! I submit that PERFORMANCE is the ONLY thing that truly matters in today's global economy. Where higher education in STEM subjects contributes to growth, companies must seek to hire qualified and advanced candidates.

Nonetheless, creative evolution in educational design and corporate practice - and within the middle market - should be our ultimate goal. The West does not need more letters. We need to start innovating and competing.. The narrow confines of a pure academic syllabus will not cut it in the contemporary world.

THE CAT IS AMONGST THE PIGEONS: WHAT DO YOU THINK??