It’s a harsh statement, but you can’t dismiss it outright, especially when you listen closely to the stories behind it. Talk to a graduate who spent four or five years studying engineering, only to end up managing a small retail shop because no jobs came. Or the young woman with a degree in mass communication now running a phone accessories stand. Or the countless graduates preparing endlessly for entrance exams, aptitude tests, and interviews that never seem to lead anywhere. These are not isolated cases; they are everyday realities. And they are the fuel behind that controversial phrase.
But is school really a scam? Or is something else going wrong?
One of the biggest issues is the mismatch between education and employment. In theory, school is supposed to prepare people for the workforce. In practice, many leave school unprepared for the actual demands of the job market. A student may graduate with excellent grades yet lack basic practical skills, communication, problem-solving, and digital literacy that employers now prioritise. So you have a system that produces graduates, but not necessarily employable graduates.
Then there’s the problem of outdated learning. In many classrooms, teaching methods haven’t changed in decades. Students still cram textbooks, memorise theories, and reproduce them in exams, only to forget most of it shortly after. Meanwhile, the world outside is evolving rapidly: technology, business models, and entire industries are shifting. The gap between what is taught and what is needed keeps widening.
Another reason people call school a scam is the “promise” that was attached to it. From a young age, many were told, “If you go to school and get a degree, you will succeed”.That message was repeated so often it became almost unquestionable. But today, reality tells a different story. Degrees no longer guarantee jobs. Hard work in school does not always translate to financial stability. When expectations collide with reality, disappointment turns into resentment, and resentment often sounds like, “school is a scam”.
Cost is another factor. Families invest heavily in education, tuition, books, and accommodation, sometimes stretching their finances to the limit. When the return on that investment is uncertain or delayed, it begins to feel like a bad deal. Imagine spending years and resources on a degree, only to end up learning a trade or skill afterwards just to survive. To many, that feels like starting over.
However, calling school a scam ignores an important truth: education itself still has value.
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There are professions where formal education is non-negotiable. You cannot “self-learn” your way into being a doctor or a lawyer without structured training. Even outside these fields, school provides foundational skills, reading, writing, and critical thinking that remain essential in any path. The issue is not that school is useless; it’s that it has been oversold as a complete solution.
Perhaps the more accurate statement is this: school is not enough.
The world has changed, but the mindset around education hasn’t fully caught up. Today, success often requires a combination of formal education, practical skills, street awareness, and continuous self-improvement. Those who rely solely on their degrees may struggle, while those who adapt, learn beyond the classroom, and build relevant skills tend to find their footing more easily.
So when people say “school is a scam,” what they’re really expressing is frustration with a system that hasn’t delivered on its promises. It’s less about rejecting education and more about questioning its effectiveness in its current form.
The challenge, then, is not to abandon school but to rethink it. To make it more practical, more flexible, and more aligned with real-world needs. And on an individual level, to stop seeing school as the final destination, and start seeing it as just one part of a much larger journey.
Because in the end, school isn’t a scam.
