Walking Into A Class Room As A Guest Speaker - An Afterthought!

I want you to speak to the students of Market Research class about the Oil Industry said a friend who is currently teaching at one of the renown universities of Islamabad. Given the fact, I am always up for anything that revolves around speaking to an audience regarding things that I know well - I gave my instant commitment and looked forward to an interesting session.

I remember back then when I was at the tail end of my undergraduate program, I would consider our batch as the most competitive one. Most of us knew what we wanted from life. Most of us knew where were we headed to. We had our highs and lows, nevertheless, we were very clear on things that mattered. In light of the fact, I was going to speak to an audience of Management Sciences, just a semester away to be finally called as 'graduates' , therefore, I naturally looked forward to interacting with a super interesting bunch of people. However, as things started to rolling, it turned out, the only excited people were me and my friend. 

I would rather try not to be critical about this generation but the way I see it is pretty disappointing. At the age of 23, a guy tells out loud to a room full of people that he just does not feel like doing anything surely sets off alarm bells for a person like me. Halfheartedness and lack of urge to learn something new came off as not-too-good-of-a- news. During the time when I was face-to-face with the future marketeers/entrepreneurs, deep down in my heart I was concerned only about one thing - why there exists the lack of realization of life being too short to be thrown away in an abyss of indifference?

While I know that bunch can climb the mountains and can cross the oceans if they want to, for something they set their eyes on, I know that too chances are slim they will do so. Not because they are not well-equipped or lack the resources but only because indifference has taken a huge chunk of their lives. It will not be wrong if I blame it on our deteriorating educational apparatus being highly fixated at the grading system and that blatantly overlooks the major component i.e. personal grooming and growth. Having a healthy hobby or volunteering for social work, desire to learn or have an inspiration - instilling all this in an individual is not a mandatory part of the curriculum. Moreover, low merit and career counselling at the bare minimum do not envisage a very bright future of scores of individuals in the pipeline. 

Results? 

By-product of a four year strenuous program is narrowed down to seeking for a 9-5 job and if that doesn't happen - indifferent and just-pass-the-time-to-lead-the-life attitude prevails. Individuals are hamstrung by either lack of proper knowledge or necessary skills that could allow them to cope with the setbacks they face. Well, and that is exactly why degree in hand has stopped to matter. Raising the quality of education system is not an over night process; it does take ground root efforts, however, by quality here I mean, shaping the life of an individual and preparing him in the best possible way for the future. That includes motivating him enough to think beyond the ordinary. 

Session, nevertheless, ended with some useful information cascaded to the-then-interested people who were also eager-to-work in the energy sector. On my way back, my friend (whose teaching methodology and mentoring style makes me very proud) and I had a long debate on what else can be done besides me writing about it. 

We are working on it!

About the Author: Believes in herself!