Washington, Mar. 17 - Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has reportedly slammed tech critics who opine that college is overrated and 'not worth it'.

During the SXSW conference, Schmidt said "there are people who make claims that higher education is not a good use of your time: they're just wrong."

One notable critic, Facebook investor Peter Thiel, claimed that higher education was a 'bubble,' while another critic Tech investor James Altucher has argued that college is a scam and not worth the rising costs, Tech Crunch reports.

The report said that the average college loan racks up 30,000 dollars worth of debt and the students are thrown into an uncertain recession-wracked job market.

However, Schmidt said that the economic return to higher education over a lifetime produces significant compound greater earnings.

According to the report, when Schmidt was asked about the difficulty in paying for college, he said that it was expensive and needed to be fixed.

Schmidt also noted that especially for gifted students, teachers should focus on teaching 'grit,' adding that what separates out the capable students from the really successful ones is not so much their knowledge, but their persistence at something.

For the vast majority of students, Schmidt argued that college is worth it no matter what their goal, money, culture, creativity, or simply having fun, the report added. (ANI)