As Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”. Presently, we can validate it because it enables us to understand the world better. It is through education that we are thoughtful about what is happening around us, the world. It is the ultimate key to eliminating all problems.

Education provides the devices to improve the quality of life in modern society both economically and sociologically. Education is one movement in which one receives information. This information ensures systematic instructions in return, further enabling to be empowered.

And the most crucial component that bestows one to attain education is the institutions such as schools, colleges and universities. In these institutions, individuals are groomed, taught, and built for the real world, or their future career ensures stability in day-to-day life. Therefore, it is crucial to turn to this basic necessity, ‘Education’.

We are all aware that school education is essential, which lays the foundation of future prosperity. Therefore, we will solely focus on the purpose of college education in this article.

What is a college education?

A college pedagogy is beyond the secondary level of education. After completing school, students proceed with higher education to earn a degree in a particular discipline. Individuals can earn a degree after completion of a college education.

Purpose of College education 

Individuals are primarily in a late adolescent period when they attain or decide to pursue a college education. This phase of emerging adulthood is an extended period of life between adolescent dependence and adulthood independence. It is mainly at this stage that individuals decide to move towards their goals, dreams, and passion. They decide to opt for a discipline that helps for the same.

Generally, college education or undergraduate programs are three years to 4 years, depending on the region of the educational institution. For example, before the National Education Policy, 2020, higher education or graduation consisted of 3 years in India. It may further change in the coming years after the institutions adopt the guidelines of the NEP, 2020. On the Contrary, the undergraduate programs in foreign countries are primarily four years.

As the undergraduates are emerging adults, the three or four-year programs teach and prepare them to reflect reality.

Strata Education Network 2021 Alumni Survey found that most students attend college to qualify for a good job. However, the students also added that they wanted to be successful at work, make money, learn new things, and grow as a person alongside jobs. It signifies a relatively improvised version of understanding the purposes of a college education.

Nevertheless, there are more to this extended version of the true purpose of Education; we will go through it below:

• To help students understand study value beyond employment:Graduation or college education does not only imply value in career preparation but has broader objectives. It aims to produce literate adults who can derive solutions by thinking critically, communicate effectively with best practices, argue logically and solve any and every complex problem.
• Engaging students with their faculties: It is crucial to connect with a mentor to build-up efficiently. As in the best case, a skilled professor can act as a mentor, a trusted advisor, a role model and an ardent supporter. And mostly, a skilled professor must be able to provide valuable feedback. This feedback enables students to look into their mistakes, correct and build themselves overall. Professors assist students in seeing the world with a broader lens. Therefore, mentorship can be an integral part of the undergraduate experience.
• Drawing a connection between the education program and post-college scopes:Undergraduate education enables one to gain insight into the field on which an individual seeks their pathway towards the career. Undergraduates often focus on integrating skills-building activities into the courses. It enhances students’ written, oral presentation skills and also their analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Broadens the horizon of opportunities:College education enables you to learn a broad range of skills. So, a student may end up in a field they didn’t necessarily study for. The broad range of skills attained from college opens up new and unexpected opportunities. These opportunities might not have become available if the student had not received higher education.

Furthermore, the college education also has practical benefits in the 21st century, to be included:

• Economic stability: Individuals with some form of higher education earn more money and have a lower probability of unemployment. These individuals are primarily enabled to be economically stable in future.
• Personal Development: Individuals with careers tend to lead more structured lives. They tend to have a stronger sense of responsibility, traits that strengthen in multiple areas of life.
• Better communication: College education enables one to procure a decent job. These jobs mainly involve some form of written or verbal communication. Such jobs can be mastered if one obtains these qualities during college education.
• Realisation of passion: It is often seen that the more an individual learns, the likelier they are to find true passion in life. Through college education, one can explore the various facets of a prospective field and its strengths.
• Greater sense of discipline: College education is not an easy task; one must be a multi-tasker to attain the degree. This regiment of processes instils one with the discipline required in the professional world. Such quality enables one to handle and follow complex instructions and meet strict deadlines.

In the existing scenario, the career options are declining for those who have not pursued higher education. Many higher schoolers quit college education or don’t pursue it. Such individuals end up working in the service field of jobs that pay low. These jobs don’t provide security and advancement of opportunities.

However, this is not the same for all. There are even high school graduates who become efficient and are very successful. That said, by furthering education, one can obtain a broad range of skills. It qualifies them for a broader range of career choices in different fields, allowing more room for progression.