The writer (she/her) is the technical adviser to the MoFEPT. Views are her own.
The myth of the college dropout who went on to become a billionaire tech entrepreneur remains persistent, but its lessons continue to be misunderstood and misapplied.
In Pakistan, students and policymakers alike are quick to cite the same worn-out trio of examples – Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Students not doing well will use them to explain away the need for good academic performance. Policymakers will cite them to argue that college degrees are no longer necessary because big-tech does not require them anymore, perhaps reducing the pressure on themselves and making their own jobs easier.
What these people misunderstand is the causal relationship between dropping out and business success. These giants of tech did not become accomplished tech-entrepreneurs because they dropped out. They came from relatively privileged backgrounds and had the benefit of excellent schooling and had acquired all the skills others acquire through formal higher education by way of their hobbies. How many people anywhere can make the same claim? They dropped out because their prior educational backgrounds had them so prepared that the pace of a college education was too slow and bored them. I have yet to hear of significant numbers of Pakistani university students whose schools have prepared them to an extent as to make a college education redundant.
The truth is that the typical (tech-)entrepreneur...
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