The truth must be told that the truth itself does not need anyone to defend it. 

Therefore, anything that must be continually defended and explained is most likely a lie or superficial. 

Today, there seems to be a common misunderstanding that academic education is superior and has a monopoly on knowledge. 

The impression given is that those without academic credentials are inferior and, should therefore, have no opinions or a seat at the table of any debate. 

This is an everyday absurdity that conventional wisdom purports, yet it remains silent when a cattle herder saves a professor from drowning. 

The current adopted idea of academic education supremacy is so overrated that it is self-defeating, as it does more than just getting in the way of what it claims to achieve. 

Rather than seeing education as multidisciplinary, it has been narrowed down to a subject of self-absorption and obnoxious behaviour. 

Instead of elevating us as a race, it exposes our inherent and insatiable need for validation and glorification. 

It is no longer purpose-driven and genuinely for the greater good, but more for the satisfaction of underlying insecurities. 

As much as that is the case, though, we may singularly be the ones to blame. 

As much as we may deny, we may equally be victims of a larger complex conspiracy that comprises our whole existence as we know it. 

Often, we go by the saying that, to know where we are going, it is essential to know where we come from. 

However, as much as this is not only a mantra but also true, its application seems very selective. 

It is often applied where it is comfortable and irks our monstrous ego or for benefit, yet it falls silent where it may expose weakness and failure. 

We fail to bring it to life when it comes to aspects of our lives that we highly revere, glorify and existentially cling to. 

When choosing political patronage, it is emphasised to consider history, but never to investigate the origins of the education system or the initial premise upon which it was built. 

Therefore, it should also spark curiosity about why, even after technological advances in almost every sphere, the design of the classroom and the curriculum modus operandi are still the same as they were a hundred years ago. 

Therefore, to objectively transform education into its true sense of the word, we must return to the source. 

We must first investigate the intentions and vision of Andrew Carnegie and his cronies, and confirm whether they are genuinely aligned with the future we envision. 

Otherwise, we may continue down this narrow road of being fed an academic fat cake. 

At the same time, proper education is just thrown away from our confusion. 

For, to achieve a prosperous world, we must not cease to monitor and evaluate our mental faculties, both individually and collectively. 

This is because, like someone once said, when one person is delusional, it is called insanity. 

However, when the majority are delusional, it is called society. 

*Uncommon Sense is published in the New Era with contributions from Karlos Naimwhaka. YouTube channel: Karlos Lokos. 

–karlsimbumusic@gmail.com