LETTERS: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" is a question that is often posed to schoolchildren.
I remember the first time I was asked this question, and without hesitation, I declared that I wanted to become a firefighter.
It seemed like an easy question to answer at the time, and my classmates had their own dreams, too, ranging from becoming astronauts to police officers and doctors.
However, if you were to ask the same question to schoolchildren today, you'd receive a different set of answers.
On May 24, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek revealed startling statistics in a parliamentary reply.
A staggering 180,680 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia students from the 2021 school session, who accounted for almost 50 per cent of the intake, chose not to pursue higher education.
This data paints a vivid picture of a shifting landscape in career aspirations.
In recent years, the media has been abuzz with stories of youth gravitating to content creation or trying their luck at becoming social media influencers.
And, truth be told, who can blame them?
The allure of fame and glamour associated with social media stardom often seems more appealing than higher education.
High tuition fees, the daunting prospect of struggling to find employment after graduation, and the spectre of low starting salaries have cast a shadow on the traditional route of pursuing tertiary education.
To the ministry's credit, there are efforts to address this trend.
It is considering the implementation of "personal development and career education plans", and counsellors are expected to play a crucial role in guiding students towards informed decisions.
However, these approaches may not be enough to sway the mindset of Gen Z.
In a rapidly evolving world, it's clear that you cannot solve modern problems with outdated solutions.
It's time to take a more innovative approach.
As the saying goes, "you must fight fire with fire".
In other words, the key may lie in leveraging social media to communicate to the youth that tertiary education is not a lost cause.
As we have observed throughout the past few decades, technology has emerged as an unstoppable force.
Attempts to stem this tide often prove futile, as the pace of technological advancement continues to astound us.
Steve Ballmer, the former chief executive officer of Microsoft, made a now-infamous mockery of the iPhone in 2007 for its lack of physical buttons and keyboard compared with the BlackBerry.
We all know how that played out: the iPhone revolutionised the smartphone industry.
In a similar vein, combating the allure of a social media career by championing tertiary education may be an uphill battle.
Instead of pointing fingers at social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok for the declining interest in traditional education among our youth, we should embrace these platforms as tools to rekindle their interest in learning.
The impact of social media, especially platforms like TikTok, became evident during last year's general election. It's clear that these platforms had a profound influence on our youth.
Consequently, a concerted effort by the government, non-governmental organisations and universities to promote tertiary education on social media channels could yield remarkable results.
Gen Z increasingly turn to TikTok as a source of information, bypassing traditional search engines like Google.
Notably, healthcare professionals and doctors leveraged TikTok during the Covid-19 pandemic to combat misinformation, demonstrating the reach of social media.
While I support the intention to address the dwindling interest of our youth in furthering their education, it's crucial to employ effective and modern methods.
The government must also address issues related to employability and salaries of graduates.
However, when it comes to engaging the youth and reigniting their enthusiasm for tertiary education, it's clear that riding the social media wave is a more pragmatic approach than fighting against it.
DR JAZLI AZIZ
Senior lecturer
Department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences
Faculty of Dentistry
Universiti Malaya
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
