FOLLOWING the graduation of over 1,600 former students of Kigali Independent University last Friday, the debate on whether such an achievement is worth celebrating or not continues.

Much as many families threw luncheons and parties to celebrate their children’s success or plan to, a good number of fresh graduates, together with their parents and guardians, seemed indifferent to the whole idea. 

According to a survey by Education Times, majority of the people in principle agree that a degree is indeed a milestone in someone’s life. And most people still agree that the achievement must be celebrated. What divides opinon, however, is how do you celebrate that feat. Some people believe it should be a big party for the family and community from which the graduand comes, while others argue that it should be limited to the nucleus family in order to cut costs.

Proponents for the former view hold that a child goes through thick and thin during his academic journey, and only overcomes those hurdles with the help of many people — parents, siblings, relatives and friends — hence the need to thank everyone for their role in that academic journey. On the other hand, the anti-party group says how do you celebrate a degree when your child is not even assured of a job, let alone the next meal? They argue that it is better to use that money that would have been ‘wasted’ on a party to start a business for the young university graduate.

Indeed, both arguments are strong. And no one should be blamed for wanting or not wanting a party. However, since most of the parties are organised by parents/guardians, it is important that you explain to your child why you think such a celebration should or should not take place. A parent might probably want to have party for egoistic reasons and yet the child prefers they give him that money as capital.

This means that if the parent or child totally dismisses the other person’s feelings, someone will be hurt. And may be forever. So you must strike a compromise to cater for both your interests. No one should impose their idea on others because it can lead to family disagreements.