By Awal* ( Guest writer)
In Cameroon today, education is a top priority for most families. Parents make enormous sacrifices to send their children to school, often hoping that a degree will open doors to a better life. But as we look around, we must also be honest with ourselves: how many graduates today are truly equipped to create opportunities, build businesses, or solve real-world problems?
Across the country, schools offering humanities degrees such as law, sociology, marketing, history, and economics have become the norm. They are far easier and cheaper to set up than institutions that require labs, tools, or workshops. As a result, we now have an oversupply of graduates in fields where the demand is shrinking, and an undersupply of skilled workers in areas where our economy needs them most.
At the same time, many of our vocational schools, places where young people can learn trades and practical skills, are underfunded, poorly managed, and often overlooked . Getting admitted or getting a job there sometimes depends more on who you know than what you know. But this is not just a problem. It is also a massive opportunity.
Consider what happened when Apple began building its supply chain in China. As Patrick McGee explains in his book Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company, Apple spends over $55 billion annually in China, an amount larger than the CHIPS Act or the Marshall Plan when adjusted for today’s dollars. This wasn’t a government initiative. It was a private company solving its own production challenges. But in doing so, it created what might be the largest and most effective vocational training system in the world. Millions of workers gained real, hands-on skills in precision manufacturing, logistics, and engineering. That investment didn’t just benefit Apple. It helped fuel a generation of Chinese companies that now compete globally.
There is a lesson here for us.
What if we encouraged our young people not just to study but also to do? What if, during school holidays, we enrolled them in programs where they could learn video editing, solar panel installation, coding, welding, carpentry, sewing, baking, or digital marketing not just to pass the time, but to build confidence, solve problems, and discover new possibilities?
Let us also ask ourselves: How many graduates from even our best business schools are actively building or growing companies? How many are helping small and medium enterprises thrive? And how many of the most successful people we know built their lives on something other than a perfect academic record?
It is also important not to fall into the trap of assuming that science students, those who study physics, chemistry, mathematics, or statistics automatically fare better in the job market or are more equipped to solve problems. That is not always the case. It is not uncommon to meet someone with straight As in statistics who struggles to analyze basic sales data from a small business and extract actionable insights. The issue is not just what you study, but how it is taught, and more importantly, how it is applied.
We are living in a time of change. Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Deepseek are reshaping the world of education and work. The people who will thrive are not just those who have degrees but those who can think, create, and adapt.
As parents, educators, and leaders, we owe it to the next generation to expand what we consider education. A university degree is not the only path to success. Skills matter. Initiative matters. Problem-solving matters.
So this holiday, maybe it is worth asking: what can my child learn that will help them become more capable, confident, and prepared for the future?
Because the world is changing, and we can prepare our children to shape it, not just survive it.
Watch the video that inspired this reflection: https://youtu.be/NAj9zB4vaZc?si=lrIMIAaFEoiTwSUh
