1 YEAR BACHELOR’S DEGREE.
I contemplated the idea of a bachelor’s degree in 1 year. Crazy, right? Maybe.
But then, I turned to google to see if there is an already ongoing conversation about the idea. At first glance, google did not hesitate to feed me with how it is already working for 2 years in some prominent universities having programs online.
Online?
Yes, online.
If you are yet to grasp the reality that the future of education is online, you may be in for a long thing.
I am not sure if there is any globally ranking university that does not have one program or the other online. They can’t all be wrong. So, just accept that reality.
With this reality, we are only scratching the surface of the potential of using technology to deliver faster, flexibly-paced, and personalized education. Hence, the possibility of having a degree in one year. This will not come without some changes in the way we work.
Which workspace will accept such a degree?
The truth is, the workspace culture is already changing, and before we know it, accepting 1-year degree certificate will become a norm.
But isn’t that too short to cover what is required?
Yes, it is, if you are still thinking 19th and 20th century.
In today’s workplace, continuous learning is becoming a part of the culture. According to a quote credited to one of the World’s outstanding futurist — Alvin Toffler, who said:
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”
So, no company will expect that you become an encyclopedia before working with them. What they will require from you is the fundamentals, — which you must have gotten if you have a strong foundation in secondary school, as well as readiness to learn, relearn and unlearn.
In other words, you must be teachable. And this makes a lot of sense because knowledge itself is very dynamic and in this age, it is even more dynamic than ever.
Research shows that the amount of knowledge that was generated between 1999 and 2003 is far more than what was generated since the beginning of humanity till that year.
Why do you think google prepared a 6-month course and they boasted that once you get the certificate, you don’t require a degree to get an entry-level job in this role? Google didn’t stop there, it also listed more than 100 global companies that will accept such certificates from you and offer you an entry-level role. Again, they can’t all be wrong regarding this.
The last time we interviewed for a role in QA, no one cared about the degree of the applicant, priority was given to experience, skills, and teachability. I did remember informing the cofounder of Edtrack that the applicant did not display the required quantum of skills regarding the role as expected but she had two advantages to her credit.
1. She appeared to be teachable
2. She had other skills that will be useful for the company in the future.
For these two reasons, we hired her. There was no discussion about her university transcript, secondary school certificate, and all that. Who cares?
One constant question I ask interviewees is : “On a scale of 1 to 10, how teachable are you?”
This is because as a company, we have an internal professional development plan that transforms teachers to exactly what we want. Hence, the need to score high on the teachability scorecard.
Cuemath, an India-based ed-tech company where students pay as high as $1959.87 (equivalent to ₦806,976.49) engage teachers without prior teaching experience. Why? Because they have an internal professional development system where teachers will have to pay before getting certified to eventually work for them.
With all these, it shows that 1-year bachelor’s degree will soon become our reality, just like we now have courses that run for just 2 years, whether on-campus or online. It’s only a matter of time.
The implication of all these is that, for our children, we must see beyond the traditional school system if we want them to be relevant at the time they will need to implement the knowledge garnered.
In summary, as changes are happening in the workplace so it is in education that prepares skilled personnel for such workplace and the changes are happening at an unprecedented speed.
Therefore, it is important to expect a mind-blowing change in the education sector in the very close future.
Don’t be caught unaware.
DISCLAIMER: I am not saying you or your children should stop attending the traditional school. Not at all. That is what we still have now, for that reason they may still be important. All I’m trying to say is that these things are changing and you should put the changes in perspective, especially for your children.