Forget Academic Qualifications; Intellect Matters Most

I actually expect the general public to dispute this intellectual piece of writing. Really? Oh yes, this defiant write-up is aimed at modifying the status quo regarding academic qualifications which remain sacrosanct in our Ghanaian society. Okay, I am a rare intellectual and writer of genius who professes an unflinching belief in intellect. Academic qualifications held by an individual are useless if they are out of sync with his intellect.

Strangely enough, our backward-looking educational system places a premium on mere academic qualifications, and not intellect. No wonder our developing nation continues to wallow in despair because our overhyped academic brains have failed to fix our recurrent problems. So don't you realise that the priceless role of intellect is missing in the economic equation?

Well, let us try to figure out what academic qualifications signify. Schooling guarantees students academic qualifications through certificates after graduation. But remember, academic qualifications do not necessarily give a conclusive proof that a person is extremely competent. Why? "Qualifications are overrated. Someone graduated top of their class at university or secretarial college, a culinary academy, or a top business school, but what does it tell you? All it tells you is that this person is good at exams," according to Dr. Rob Yeung.

Personally, I hold individuals of pure intellect, not high academic qualifications, in great esteem since they operate with a lot of useful brainpower. And understand that, in our sophisticated world which is globalisation-bound; your level of intellect, and not your academic qualifications, largely influences your progress, greatness and prosperity in life.

So what does intellect really mean? Intellect, according to Google, is the faculty of reasoning and understanding objectively, especially with regard to abstract matters. Thus a man of intellect is considered to be an intellectual. However, there is a common misconception that persons with superb academic qualifications are the intellectuals. That's a big fallacy! An intellectual is an incredible thinker; a soul filled with highly developed intellect, basically through lifelong informal learning. Look! Genuine intellectuals are avid readers, so their intellectual capacity transcends the boundaries of school. Such people read wide, a lot and very well in order to live, and not to be amused like children or for the purpose of instruction like the ambitious; as Gustave Flaubert commanded.

Moreover, "Former president, Flt. Lt. (Rtd) J. J. Rawlings, in one of his famous speeches said that, 'The merit of an intellectual lies not in what he thinks, but in the relationship between what he thinks and what he does'" (Asubonteng, 2006). This means that, a man of true intellect is also a man of corresponding action. As a real intellectual; I think that my inalienable passion, not my programme at the university, will act as a catalyst for my envisioned success in life. So I prioritise my inalienable passion, which is the gift of writing, over and above my undergraduate programme in my everyday life. It stands out a mile! Again, I endeavour to hold full intellectual supremacy as a creative writer, and not to simply acquire higher academic qualifications. Ha-ha, that is gradually paying off in my very promising career in the writing fraternity.

Source: sirarticle.blogspot.com