Over the past few years, formal education has started to lose it’s worth and allure. But not because it’s actually worthless, but because the job market in my country has become so saturated that our president went on live TV to implore the youth to begin to explore entrepreneurial options because if a lack of jobs for them.

The saturated job market is also responsible for the current economic hardship in the country, which in turn is the reason most Ghanaians have chosen to “japa” (leave the country) in search of greener pastures.

Regardless, I think all hope is still not lost, and with the right measures and approach, we can still make meaning of our degrees.

The Educational Systems

Before Covid hit, the popular means of education has been in-person education where students are taught in classrooms. Unfortunately, like every other system, in-person education has it’s advantages and limitations. I’ll be looking at only the advantages, cos I’ll talk about the limitations as I explain the pros of the other.

More Social Interaction

I think this is probably one of the biggest advantages of in-person education. Cohorts get to interact among each other and their professors, and this makes the teaching snd learning process more fun.

Aside this, through these interactions, they’re able to build relationships among each other and professors that they can leverage on for things like recommendation letters for their future academic aspirations or careers.

If I were ever to choose in-person education over online, this would probably be one of the deciding factors. Most students who pursue online degrees miss out on the building relationships with professors part, or even if they do have one, the relationship is not as strong as it could be in-person.

But hey, forget the teaching and learning itself. There’s parties!!! All work and no play makes Doe a dull person! I know that in the future, virtual parties will become a thing and might get super interesting too, but for now, parties are in-person on campus and we love it like that.

All Courses Can Be Taught

One distinguishing thing between in-person and online degrees is that for practical courses like Biochemistry which involves labs obviously can not be taught online because…come on now.

This is why I see online degrees for programs like Biochemistry as cash cows - they just want to take your money and give you a mediocre education.

Online

Whiles this has the advantage of in-person interaction and relationship building among class or cohort and professors, it limits the full potential of how teaching and learning can be done.

I like to think that as bad as Covid was, it introduced us and helped us see the relevance of building an adopting online education/learning. This was especially the case when lockdowns took effect and we had to study from home. Let’s look at some pros of online education.

Access to a wide range of courses - learn whatever, wherever, whenever.

The very thing that limits the teaching of practical courses, ironically makes online learning more appealing. With tools like Coursera, Alison, and Udemy, you can learn literally anything from whatever hole you’re from in the world, and most at times, for free too. Which brings me to my next point.

Online education is mostly very cost-effective

As I mentioned earlier, most of the short courses on these online learning resources are free. But even for those that are not free such as full degrees offered in partnership with universities, you still get to save on expenses like flights to attend lectures, on-campus accommodation, and general living expenses.

Offers a chance for non-enrolled students to still take courses to upgrade their knowledge and skills

What I’ve noticed about in-person education is that in most cases, you need to be enrolled to be able to take courses. The awesome thing about online education is that in some cases like on Udemy, Coursera and the likes, you can take short standalone courses without having to enroll in an entire program. This makes it convenient and cost-effective even if you have to pay for the course.

More Flexible

With online education, you’re mostly afforded the luxury to pace yourself, and take things as slow or fast as you want. Which (in my opinion), makes it the best option for graduate students who are already employed and working.

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Both online and in-person education each have their own perks, and it is depending on your needs that you can choose which will be the best fit for you. In-person education will suit people who want to build close relationships with their cohort and professors, and a fun education more, whiles online education will suit people who are probably already working and looking for flexibility and a bit of freedom.

As for whether the college path is still worth it, it really depends: on what you’re studying, what the current job market for your career looks like.

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This post is based on one of today’s #marchinleo topics. Check this post to find out what the prompts for this month are, and how to participate. You stand a chance to win a free INLEO premium account by participating!!

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