School No Be Scam! -By Jerome Kalu

“If you say education is expensive and deceitful, then try ignorance and illiteracy and forever live in
darkness.”

The word ‘school Na Scam’ is a common ‘Nigerian Pidgin English Terminology’ which implies in summary
that, “School-Formal Education is a waste of time which at the end yields nothing but just vanity.” It
further elaborately implies that, “one’s way to attain a certificate after education and the education itself is
useless, if one does not have enough money to scale through or someone at the top to drag them in.”

This mental sentiment by some Nigerians is 30% true but 70% not true because those who live by this
mental sentiment have not really understood the potential of education.

(Formal) education is a process of teaching, training and especially in Schools or College, to improve
knowledge and develop skills. However, ‘formal education’ does not entails just reading books and
excelling in exams and so on,rather, it’s more of engaging pupils, students or anyone who chooses to
learn in acquiring profitable skills like: Catering, Photography, Fashion Designing, Bead making, Shoes making and so on,which if combined with ‘a formal education background’ would make one an asset to himself and to the society.

The aforementioned mental sentiment means that, to some Nigerians, especially the young ones still
schooling or those who just graduated , sees buying textbooks or handouts, other materials used in the
classroom, the cumbersome school fees and its quick demands and the stress of reading intensively
during the day and overnight which would still desert them stranded without job after a long stand in
the ‘Labour market’ is uncalled for.

But no I tell you, that if you had taken your ‘Cultural and Creative Art’ and E.E.D(Entrepreneurship
Development) more seriously then, waiting for Private Sectors or Government organization now to
approve you again before you begin to exhibit your ability is indeed a waste of time and a delay in
establishing your knowledge into reality.

If people like Dr.Charles Oni a Lecturer and a former H.O.D at the department of Mass Communication-Yabatech, Mr. Abraham Onoja President  WIN INTERACTIVE NETWORK, Prof. Wole Soyinka an Icon in Literature, China Achebe a Renowned Writer and Abraham Ogodo Chief-Editor The Guardian Newspaper
and many other successful Nigerians who has made it with their various skills which they acquired in the
process of ‘formal education’ had been subjective to such odd mental sentiment that ‘School Na Scam’,
then everyone would have been living in darkness and there would be no one to call’ a role model’, for
“education is light and knowledge is power.”

Therefore, education is the contemporary asset nowadays which has come to stay and which does not
mean that vocations or handworks are bad idea, rather, ‘they are tools to compliment formal education’
which is also very important. But education on its own which everyone must have because even the
elderly ones still fancy it, talk less of the youth who are just beginning the rase for knowledge.

To my fellow youth and anyone who has chosen to relent on acquiring education should have a rethink
and continue to strive on, “for nothing good comes easy”, “the way you lay your bed so shall you lie on
it” and not everyone is born with a silver spoon”. So, strive on, for your peak of success is very near.

School No Be Scam o! Education is key and knowledge is power.