Prompt: Too much emphasis has been put on going to university for academic study. We should encourage more people to receive vocational training  because of the needs for tradespeople like plumbers and electricians. To what extent do you agree?

There is a surge in demand for tradesmen, whereas even with increasingly high pay, few people are willing to join in, as they are busy enrolling for universities. For me, I strongly agree that many people should receive vocational training instead of academic study. Ċ As a matter of fact, people are born to excel at different things. Some folks are expert at hands-on practice, while others are good at theory and logical thinking, and they should be put in the right place to fully realise their potential. However, some talents for building things are sent to university for theoretical study, which is a total waste of their gifts. Ċ Besides, there has been an alarming trend that people who obtained a degree from university enjoy higher social status. As a consequence, numeric parents desire to send their children to university, and the higher education nowadays has become an industry for earning money rather than educating people. The social status of a person is expected to be evaluated by the contribution he has made to the society, not by a degree. Ċ On the other hand, academic education has its own positive impact on the society that it improves the overall quality of the students and instructs them to lead a wiser life. Ċ To summarise, in recent years, a large number of unsuitable people went to university, causing a great waste and imbalance between supply and demand for tradespeople. People should make their choices between vocational training and academic study after full consideration to their particular conditions to unlock their true potential.