In the era of “Fake It Till You Make It”, I can’t really say I’m surprised by the “College Bribery” Scandal involving celebrities and some wealthy business people in the US who paid thousands of dollars to get their children into Elite Schools including Stanford and Yale! Similar cases have been reported around the world for years from parents caught bribing teachers and lecturers to give their kids good grades as to those buying test papers before National Exams or paying people to sit the Exams on behalf of the students. The goal is to get good marks so the children can be admitted into that prestigious Secondary School or University and eventually get a good job. One of the parents in this recent scandal, famous Actress Lori Loughlin reportedly spent $500,000 on her daughters’ skewed admissions! First of all, that’s a lot of money but I guess if you’re that rich, it’s pocket change. Secondly, that’s more money than the 99 per cent of us make our whole entire lives however hard we work, so for someone to spend it on bribes is not only irresponsible but morally wrong. I don’t begrudge rich folks, after all it’s their money but I don’t understand how you can spend that kind of money when there are millions of homeless people around the world and hundreds of thousands more starving! Thirdly, that money could build 100 or more schools in Africa and other parts of the developing World and that in my opinion is exactly why the rich should be taxed more. They have way more money than they know what to do with. It’s the same people who spend millions of dollars on clothes, shoes and jewelry they sometimes wear just once and donate or throw away. Loughlin was briefly detained and then freed on a $1,000,000 bail. This goes to show that when you have money, you can get away with anything. It’s depressing how unfair life is. I understand that at the end of the day, every parent wants the best for their child and that is what drove these rich and famous parents to do what they did. They wanted their kids to be admitted into certain schools at whatever cost to secure their already secure futures. To these parents and anyone thinking about writing that cheque, well knowing your child is not is not even qualified to attend whatever school you’re desperate to get them into, here’s something to think about; there’re still children who attend class under trees or in incomplete structures and whether it’s raining or shining, it’s not the best environment to study. There are children who still walk for miles, barefoot, to and from school, if their parents can even afford the fees. Others cross rivers and broken bridges on empty stomachs just to get an education. Kids who return home from school to fetch water, wash their own school uniforms, prepare the family’s supper probably with firewood and then do their homework by candlelight or kerosene lamps. No air conditioning, washing machines or running water, no internet to help with their research, no tablets or laptops. Just the hopes and dreams of their families that maybe if they excel in school, they will get jobs and lift their loved ones out of poverty.
