Academic qualifications are commonly felt to give a person the best chance of success in life.

There is a popular opinion out there that 'Academic qualifications are commonly felt to give a person the best chance of success in life'. How far is this true? I have no idea about the background of my reader(s), I would not also pretend to know any and so do not expect every reader to share my point of view on the aforementioned subject of discourse. What I know is my personal experience and knowledge of a couple of people in society from history who were born literally into a 'valley' with no hope of ever lifting themselves up even to the edge of the hole. Thanks to the saying that 'if you think education is expensive, try ignorance', today history has shown that education transformed them from 'nobodies' into 'somebodies'.

Come to think of the story of the life of Obama Senior, Kwame Nkrumah, infamous MMM of NDC Asawase constituency as well as many of the African liberation leaders of mid 20th century. These were/are individuals who persisted in their belief that education has something in store for them and hence pursued it to change their own circumstances for the better.Not only that education changed their own situations, but millions of people were also positively affected by the outcome of these peoples education.

Presently, we live in what is called computer dispensation. Apparently, without education it is difficult to follow world trends and ICT is very key in bridging the differences in lifestyles and cultures across the globe. Days goneby, if I intend to get informed from somebody abroad, I had to post either letter or telegram and wait for close to one moon to get a reply. Nowadays, I could chat right away online and discuss all the nitty gritty of an issue with the person thereby reducing cost and time. Come to think of mobile money transfer and how it is positively impacting the lives of millions of families and eliminating fraud and its associated agony often brought on the victims.

Further, education also synchronises our logic and makes negotiations simpler.

Going back on the saying quoted earlier on, the opposite is true of lacking education. Africa for example is the richest continent in terms of natural resources endowment but is the poorest simply because it is poorly managed. Why? Lack of education on the part of its leaders. It is important to distinguish here the difference between classroom education and life-transforming education. The latter is the one that does not only churns out people with long accolades of qualifications but produces creative, visionary leaders and thinkers who believe that if they can conceive, then they yet can do it. I am not writing about those with long degrees and titles and yet cannot think of even how to solve common sanitation problems like getting rid of mosquitoes hence eradicating Africa's long standing and debilitating enemy malaria. Education here is defined with respect to people who are light years ahead of their contemporaries in mitigating problems confronting their generations and generation nexus.

I was born in a hamlet in the middle of Ghana with no access to health care, good education, even potable water much more to think of any hope of ever travelling to even Kumasi or think of using the internet to communicate with white people (Kwasi Broni) but because of education here I am today espousing the goodies of it and hopefully millions especially in Ghana and Africa fortunate to have access to the internet to read and digest and critique it. I had the opportunity to cover the cortège of Ghana's former President, Dr. Hilla Liman in March 1998 as a radio reporter with Radio Univers of University of Ghana Legon and reported to the whole world. This was a privilege because in the whole of Ghana, I was the only radio reporter to follow through the cortège from the Independent Square in Accra to his village Gwollu in the Upper West Region. I also saw his humble and what might be described as hopeless beginning turned around due to his zeal to pursue education. Dr. Liman had to hunt wild game in order to raise enough funds to attend school. Later on, I was on radio daily in Accra for close to three years speaking on key national issues and getting admirers and of course opponents as a result. All these privileges were possible all because of education obtained.

As a young boy growing up in Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region of Ghana with my late uncle, I still recall the words of his first letter to me when I went to St. John's School in Sekondi, Western Region of Ghana. He advised me to take education serious since that is the only investment he could bequeath to me and the only way to change my life situation if I did not want to live like my poor parents in the village. Of course, that advice got embedded deep in my memory and truly I am today reaping the benefits of education with its limitless and borderless opportunities available to all who seek them.

In conclusion, I think education and here am not writing about academic qualification, is the way out in life. Academic qualification is sheer paper evidence but the substance of the evidence of that academic qualification/education is the way out of life for all and sundry especially in most parts of Africa where caste system does not exist. It unlocks our abilities to resolve problems and helps the less fortunate in society to better theirs and those generations yet unborn. It is in this vein that my humble appeal to people entrusted with national resources and authority to take decisions for the governed majority not to use emotionality but rationality in deciding the fate of education in especially Ghana. We all know very well that emotionality and rationality are negatively correlated and unless we allow sober heads to reason, we would stand accused of messing up the future fate of our people. Further, more resources must be committed to education since it the the only investment whose returns are unmeasurable and yet is very expensive hence often neglected by the powers that be.