12 Reasons Why I didn’t Collect my PhD Certificate for some Years: Many African Job Seekers are abusing Doctorate & Professorship Titles for Ignorance or Primitive Arrogance
12 Reasons Why I didn’t Collect my PhD Certificate for some Years: Many African Job Seekers are abusing Doctorate & Professorship Titles for Ignorance or Primitive Arrogance
…..Overall, university or college certificates, Diplomas, Bachelors or Masters are meant for employers in helping them to grade the skills, salary scales and promotion levels of their employees. We see people studying with a job in mind. But most wealthy people on Earth who are all employers such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault, Larry Ellison and Mark Zuckerberg do not need university academic papers or college certificates just like Africa’s richest person, Aliko Dangote…..
By Dr. Chris ZUMANI Zimba
1. Yesterday, l passed through the University of Lusaka around 15:00 to meet a friend. He is a PhD scholar and wanted me to provide some guidance on one or two technical aspects for his thesis. After our academic meeting, l remembered something before I left my friend.
2. “I have not collected my PhD certificate for a long time now. They are still keeping it for me here and I don’t have any problem with that”, I told him. ”Do you still owe the university? Why have you not collected your most important paper and highest academic certificate in your education achievement?”, he asked.
3. “Well, l don’t owe the university anything, I cleared everything. In 2022, I was given the clearance form signed by all departments to show that l don’t owe the university anything. The truth is that l have not seen any need for me to collect this PhD certificate so far because I already collected what l wanted”, I responded.
4. Following this discussion, l walked to the post graduate office to follow up on the matter. After inquiring, they asked me to fill in a new clearance form and have it verified by the library and accounts department. I did that in less than 10 minutes and came back to collect it.
5. After checking in the system, they discovered that l graduated some time back. One of the ladies wondered why I didn’t collect it earlier. My answer was the same: “I didn’t have any need for this certificate because l collected what I wanted. But l have come to collect it because it is mine anyway”, I responded.
6. “Well, it is a strange answer but I understand. It’s good that you now have the need to use it, it’s your PhD certificate”, she responded and encouraged me. I happily collect it! On my way home, l was thinking about why it was so strange to everyone that l delayed to collect my PhD certificate. Is my approach wrong?
7. One fact is universally true, people who go to school for job opportunities later are more interested in titles and certificates. That’s why I have no respect for some doctors and Professors who celebrate their titles and certificates for their jobs but have no societal impact or defined legacy in their field. The idea of kissing education titles and certificates is for job seekers.
8. Moses, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Socrates, Confucius, Plato, Aristotle, etc left mountains of information and knowledge we all cherish today on earth but did not have any academic title or certificate because it was not necessary for them. They were not job seekers but community change agents! This my approach to education too. Germany’s Karl Marx, England’s Isaac Newton or Italy’s Niccolo Machiavelli all did have doctorate or professorship title but are more respected in their respective fields today because they left a legacy behind.
9. l am a strong believer of those who pursue education mainly for knowledge acquisition and intellectual growth than those who boost their education with titles and certificates. Today, there are many Zambians who are in a hurry to acquire academic titles and certificates without clearly defining and understanding the “why questions”. This is a national crisis we face today as a country!
10. Many people do not know that a PhD degree is not for job seekers or mere employees but rather for senior academicians and researchers. It is for people who want to discover something unique and contribute peculiar knowledge in their field of study. Today, we have many civil servants, factory employees, politicians and businessmen doing PhD programs even outside their day to day work. Dr Myles Munroe once said “ when purpose is not defined and understood, abuse is inevitable”. Across Africa, PhD and Professorship titles are being defiled and abused every day!
11. During my PhD program, l researched on “The challenges and opportunities of promoting democracy in African traditional institutions: The case of Nzamane, Kapatamoyo and Madzibawe Chiefdoms in Ngoni Land”By the end of this study, l acquired a lot of knowledge on this topic because l was compelled to study different African chiefdoms and kingdoms in relation to the challenges and opportunities for democracy promotion. The study helped me to revisit different theories of democracy.
12. When l finally graduated in 2022 after delaying to graduate by four years, l was so happy and satisfied with the quality and quantity of knowledge I acquired on this side of political comparative. Soon, l hope to publish my thesis in form of a book so that future generations can learn something new on the challenges and opportunities of democracy at kingdom level in Africa. To me, this was the most important objective behind my PhD project than anything! That’s why I never bothered to collect the certificate of this long.
Dr Chris ZUMANI Zimba is a Political Scientist, Researcher, Author & Consultant specialized in Comparative Global Governance and Democratic Theories. He holds a PhD, MA, BA and Cert in Political Science. Zimba was President Lungu’s Political Advisor from December 2019 to August 2021. By philosophical approach, Dr. Zimba is a Pan Africanist as well as Afro-Christian by religion.
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