Main Objective of Universities

Whether the main objective of universities should be to teach knowledge and skills oriented to the workplace or to teach knowledge without considering the needs of the employer and current businesses has long been the subject of intense debate and this is a question that does not have just one correct answer. This essay will look at this issue.

First of all, what needs to be taken into consideration is that the main function of a university has always been to serve society. Having said this, to attempt to teach knowledge for its own sake without catering to the needs of businesses and problems in our society could lead universities to being useless in the foreseeable future.

On the flip side of the coin, to try to focus on catering to the needs of businesses and employer and forget the foundations of knowledge could be dangerous for our own society. A price of evidence is given by the fact that to understand and know foundations and principles are needed to progress in every field otherwise undergraduates would leave university being host-sighted employees.

To summarize, although the main goal of university should be to cater to the needs of society through teaching knowledge useful for businesses, universities should consider teaching practical knowledge and the foundations of the knowledge in order to make fellows with an overall understanding of the specific subject. Ultimately, I subscribe to the idea that a balance between both aspects, that is to learn practical knowledge and to learn the foundations and principles of the subject, is the best possible solution to a sound university.