The joy of graduation is often loud the caps fly, the gowns sparkle under the sun, and parents beam with pride. But behind the selfies and celebrations lies a silent truth: many of these fresh graduates are walking into a cold, uncertain world alone.
For some, the cheers end once they step off the podium. The same parents who once ensured their children had pocket money for assignments, outfits for presentations, and food in their bellies during their schooling years now offer nothing more than, “You’re a graduate now go and find your way.”
But where do they go?
Unlike children from wealthy homes who often have job offers waiting, a family business to enter, or powerful connections lined up, many others face an unforgiving reality. No job. No mentor. No direction. Just the overwhelming weight of expectations and zero support.
This reality hits harder when graduates wake up to job rejections, unpaid internships, and a long list of responsibilities their parents now expect them to shoulder feeding themselves, supporting younger siblings, even contributing to rent.
“It’s like I was thrown into the middle of the ocean without a lifejacket,” says Amina, a 25-year-old graduate of Political Science who has spent over a year searching for stable work. “The same parents who paid my way through school now look at me like I’m lazy because I’m home. But where do I start from?”
We must ask ourselves as a society: are we raising graduates or just setting up young adults for emotional breakdown and silent suffering?
It’s time for a shift from just paying school fees to preparing life blueprints. Parents, especially in middle or low-income households, must begin to see beyond the certificate. Children need more than education; they need exposure, mentorship, and post-graduation planning.
Yes, children must learn responsibility but it should not come as abandonment.
In Conclusion
Graduation should not be the end of parental involvement. It should be the beginning of deeper conversations, wider visions, and a shared commitment to the child’s future. Because while education opens the door, real life begins outside it and no one deserves t o walk through it alone.
Bilikis Bidemi Sikiru is a communication expert currently in her final year of Mass Communication at the Federal Polytechnic Offa. She also serves as a correspondent at News Bulletin Nigeria, where she blends journalistic storytelling with her passion for relationship and human development topics.
