College education: Is the price right?

I just enrolled my brother in a private school two days ago and it resulted into the emptying of my wallet and my mom's. Since it's his fourth and last year in high school, and considering the state of public schools here in the Philippines, I'd say it's all worth it.

Not far from now, my brother will be going to college, just like those kids lining up at the cashier window of (insert name of university/college here). As I type this entry into my blog, I reminisce about my college days as if it weren't that long ago. At the same time, it reminded me of an article, “The Question You're not Asking: Should You Go to College?” by Robert Brockway, which I read a few days ago. And said article will be the inspiration of this piece.

In the Philippines, society puts a premium on education – it celebrates and respects those who went to college and looks down on those who didn’t. On this side of the world, the key to success and survival is college education.

Almost all white-collar jobs (I can't think of one that doesn't) here require a person to have completed at least two years in college, if not, possess a Bachelor's degree. Therefore, a diploma isn't merely proof of one’s acquisition of knowledge; it's a must-have if you want to see food on your plate.

As I've mentioned, you'll have to give up a king's ransom to send someone to school, more so, to college. And most people have to because state universities/colleges have limited slots, some of which taken by some rich person's kid who acquired knowledge in a private school.

Now, imagine the poor kid who can't afford to go to college because of financial inadequacies, or due to the inability to make the cut of a state university/college, which can be attributed to lack of slots or failure to pass entrance exams because the high school such person attended didn't provide an environment which is conducive to learning. This person would have no choice but to settle for low-paying blue-collar jobs, or worse, turn into a bum.

Those in the middle class aren't spared from similar problems as well. I know people who spend Php 30,000 on tuition fee every semester, only to become sales representatives and get paid around Php 10,000 per month. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being a sales rep. But according to my calculation, these people spend around Php 300,000 on tuition fee alone. Take into account all those money spent on transportation and food allowance, books, school supplies and projects, and college education should cost around half a million. And after shelling out that much dough to invest on yourself, you’d soon discover that most jobs out there don't even offer much and it's going to take more than four years, the same amount of time you spent studying in college, to earn back all those money used on tertiary education. The result: kids have to gather resources first before they can go to college, drop the whole idea, or push through with going to college, burying their families in a huge pile of debt in the process.

If going to college turns out to do more harm than good, then who's keeping the tradition alive? 1.) Schools and 2.) companies who prefer college graduates doing jobs that even a high school grad can take care of.

At the end of the day, schools are pro-profit organizations. Sure, they help in the formation of an individual by equipping one with basic skills and knowledge, but these things come with a price. Sadly, the teachers, the ones who are directly involved in developing and nurturing the students, aren't getting much of what you pay for. It's the school owners who making are a killing out of the education industry, and are the ones who are preying on the youngsters who were raised to believe that society needs to see a diploma before you can make a name for yourself.

What about the companies? Companies look for applicants who went to college even though the jobs they’re offering don't seem to require such qualifications. I mean, no offense, but doesn’t it bother you that a Home Economics major can compete against an English major for a call center job? The two most important skills you should possess when considering such career is fluency in English and computer literacy. And you can acquire those two in high school. I used to work in a call center and I've heard stories about people getting promoted to team leader despite the absence of a college diploma. If a person is so damn good in English and is a techie, I don't see why there's a need to go to college. Are you telling me an American high school grad that knows a lot about computers is not qualified to be a call center agent in the Philippines? C’mon.

The same can be said about jobs such as secretarial positions, tellers, marketing assistants, telephone operators, sales representatives/agents, and the like. I mean, in other countries, you can apply for such positions even if you haven’t finished high school. Heck, you can run for President of the Philippines even if you didn’t undergo formal schooling, so what gives?

The reason why companies want college grads in their workforce is because of the notion that these people are smarter than those who didn’t go to college. After all, if you spend more time studying, you should possess some sort of intellectual advantage.

But according to a study conducted at New York University, 45% of students showed no intellectual progress by their second year in college.

You may argue that the differences between the USA and the Philippines make the study insignificant. But for those taking, and those who already have, their Bachelor’s, ask yourself this question: do you think you got smarter or acquired a new set of skills and knowledge? Those who answered yes are probably taking up law, IT, medical courses, or any study that has something to do with hardcore science or math. And since such disciplines require a lot of studying, and hard at that, it’s not surprising. But for those in the liberal sciences and business courses… not so much. And in the event that they answered yes, they’re either head over heels in love with their course, or are only starting to enjoy school – learning and socializing with people – an experience they never got back in high school.

Now, I'd understand why college works for lawyers, engineers, doctors, or any profession that deals with hardcore math or science. Since the stakes are higher, these people need to undergo the rigid training only college can offer. Just can’t say the same about the rest of the pack.

Look at it this way. Mike Enriquez and Noli de Castro are two of the most notable broadcasters of the country, but if you’d think they were Broadcasting, Communication Arts (Mass Communication then) or Journalism majors, you’re dead wrong. Both guys took up Commerce back in college.

Another good example is Larry Kumbinsido. I mean, this guy doesn’t have a background in Marketing, Advertising, Business Administration, Management or Culinary Arts, and correct me if I’m wrong but from what I know, he never even set foot on college, but he makes big bucks out of selling barbecued animal intestines at the University of Philippines.

At this point, I’m starting to question if you really need a degree in IT or Computer Science to rule the world. I’m looking at you Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.

Now, do you think a Philosophy major would be allowed to do a bypass surgery on you? Certainly not.

So if the qualifications for a certain job include something like “graduate of any four-year course”, that’s just a bunch of bullshit. They don’t need someone who actually spent four years specializing in a particular discipline. They just need someone who’s bilingual, has good communication skills, is computer literate, and can present a piece of paper saying you completed a four-year course in college – the very same piece of paper which you worked hard for and spent thousands of pesos on, your diploma.

It’s really hard to blame employers if they want people with college years among their ranks, even for jobs that don’t need them, when they see high school graduates struggling to introduce themselves during interviews, wrinkling their foreheads while constructing simple sentences (in English), and taking too long in encoding certain documents that would only take minutes, had they spent their computer-using time upping their keyboard wpm instead of posting silly comments and pictures on Facebook.

Even if college doesn’t give you a brain boost, employers are still banking on it to straighten out the youth – to address certain weaknesses and make them more marketable. But unfortunately, not everyone can afford it.

In this regard, I’d like to bring up DepEd’s idea of having kids stay in school for two more years (one in elementary, another in high school). I used to oppose this idea, but if this is done right, this may just be what we need to convince employers into hiring high school grads in some white-collar jobs.

First, DepEd and LGUs should address the classroom shortage. It’s pretty hard to learn anything if you’re going to share a classroom designed to accommodate 30 students with 70.

Next, give the teachers a better compensation package. This can boost their morale and give them additional motivation to mold our kids to fine individuals. This leads to improved performance and improved results, and improved results mean better kids. Incentive theory anyone?

Third. They need better books. These kids and teachers need better tools that’ll aid them in learning. The government, or at least any anti-corruption agency, should look into this matter. Year after year, public schools have to settle for crappy textbooks with tons of typos, just so some politician or self-serving public servant can get some kickback. If the state can’t afford to buy the books the private schools are using, it should get the poor kids the next best thing, not the last option.

Next, we have to make sure the kids in elementary can speak, read, write and understand English. All subjects matter, of course, (I think I’ve emphasized the importance of science and math on so many occasions) but good command of the English language serves so many purposes: textbooks save for the ones with Filipino-related subjects, are in English; job interviews are done in English; you could encounter a foreign client or employer who only speaks English; and English could be quite handy if you plan to work abroad. So before we start promoting the students to the next level, we better make sure they know their subject-verb agreement. The additional year in elementary should be used to check if the kids know their English well enough, and to gauge their knowledge of other subjects as well.

Upon reaching high school, with all the usual subjects out of the way during the first four years, students should be taught basic office skills in their fifth year. Instead of sending them off to a TESDA learning center, or to college for a 2-year vocational course, kids should learn stuff like office management, bookkeeping, business communication, desktop publishing, and using word processors, spreadsheets and presentation programs, in their last year in high school. The fifth year can also be used to take up courses that’ll introduce students to blue-collar work and the service industry so they have a fallback in case they can’t land a white collar job.

I’m not making these suggestions to discourage kids from going into college. If you really want to follow your dreams of becoming (insert industry/field of study here) practitioner, then I highly recommend going to college. There, not only will you learn from industry practitioners, but you’ll also learn to take on more responsibilities and challenges, and see the world from an entirely different perspective, being able to interact with people from different walks of life.

But in the end, college is not for everybody. I’m just explaining its cons because you try talking to your friends, parents, grandparents and teachers (oh, it’s starting to look like everybody), and all you’ll hear is nothing but its pros. There are those who don’t have the patience to study for four more years, and those who can’t afford it. College has no bearing in a job that simply entails you to read some spiels over the phone, sell some stuff, keep your boss on schedule, type correspondence, make some coffee or fetch some donuts. Let’s stop asking for college diplomas/experience where it’s not needed.

And while I admire those in pursuit of higher education, always remember that it doesn’t make those who didn’t go to college less intelligent than you. Take that Miriam Defensor-Santiago!

Until then, I guess my brother has no choice but to go with the flow. But before he goes to the university/college of his choice, I'm going to convince him to take up a course that has something to do with hardcore math or science, just to make sure he really picks up something from college and won't be forced to apply on a job that needs applicants to be a graduate of any four-year course.