Is It Meaningful to Receive College Education?

Given the fact that many college students
have difficulties in finding jobs in the recent,
thousands of high school students are reported
to refuse to take the National College Entrance Examination.
The news seems so convincing that many students,
their parents,
and the society reach the conclusion
that receiving college education is a waste of time and money.
Undoubtedly, these students can earn some money working in big cities
or running their own business in the near future.
However, I am of opinion that this view is myopic,
which is to the detriment of personal development
and China’s overall growth in the long term.
Firstly, in terms of personal development,
university is not a vocational training center despite the fact
that a university diploma indicates graduates
are more likely to find decent jobs. Instead, university
is a place for personal cultivation and improvement.
In universities, students will learn to find their real interests,
perfect their personality,
and form right outlooks toward the world.
Furthermore, students will learn to gather, analyze,
and evaluate information
so that they can resolve problems in their lives.
For those who are suspicious of the value of higher learning,
to some extent,
they can be regarded as plutolatry.
They worship money and believe
that money is everything in their lives.
Secondly, in terms of national growth,
the advancement of a nation is characterized
by its greatness of high education.
In this sense, universities are the centers of research
and academic exploration. Take the United States for instance.
Among the top 100 universities in the world,
the majority of them are located in the United States.
The advancement of US high education is indicative of
the fact that those universities produce the most Nobel Prize laureates
in comparison with other countries.
American universities also turn out to be a magnet
for most smart students around the world.
Those universities contribute tremendous share to the US’ growth
through scientific and technological support.
In China,
if the belief that receiving college education is a waste of time
and money can not be corrected in time,
it is inevitable that China can only reap short-term GDP growth
but will be deprived of opportunity to
become a competitive international players in the long run,
for the human resource will be drained eventually.
In sum,
receiving college education will benefit both individual and the country.
Indicative of the dire job market
for college graduates is not the uselessness of college education.
Instead, college education means we should study harder
to make a full preparation for the future.