By Josephine Sesay

Every year, thousands of fresh graduates pour out of universities with crisp certificates, tired eyes, and hopeful hearts, they celebrate with photos in gowns, thank their parents, and for a brief moment, feel the weight of possibility, but as the applause fades, another weight takes its place the uncertainty of a job market that has no room for them.

This year is no exception, another wave of degree-holders has stepped into the world; only to realize the world has not prepared a place for them, for many, the struggle has only just begun.

Students spend years burning the candle at both ends reading, researching, battling exams, surviving financial hardship, and pushing through emotional pressure, they are told that education is the key to success, But what good is a key when there is no door to open?

Across the country, the same heartbreaking reality plays out, graduates wander from office to office clutching CVs that never get read, and others refresh job portals daily, only to receive automated rejections. Many return home to families who invested everything savings, loans, and hope now asking quietly, “So what next?”

This is not just an employment problem; it is a national crisis, a crisis of wasted potential, broken promises, and a system that produces more graduates than the economy can absorb, a crisis fueled by policymakers who praise education publicly yet fail to build industries, support innovation, or create sustainable opportunities.

And the mental toll is real and often ignored, young people who once brimmed with ambition are now discouraged before their careers even begin, the pressure to make it, to support family, to justify the cost of their education crushes even the strongest spirit.

How long will this continue?
How many more graduation ceremonies will we celebrate while offering graduates nothing but uncertainty?

A nation cannot keep telling its youth that education is the key to success while handing them a key to an invisible door, if leaders want to uphold the value of schooling, they must match their words with action through job creation, support for entrepreneurship, modern industries, fair hiring practices, and environments where talent can thrive.

Young people deserve better, they deserve a future that rewards their effort, not one that punishes them for believing in a promise society has failed to keep, until then, graduation will remain bittersweet a celebration of achievement overshadowed by the fear of a future unprepared.

Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Friday, 5th December 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)