Should Parents Choose Courses For Their Children?

See a little child beam with smile full of confidence when asked what she wants to become when she grows up, such child might say she wants to become a doctor, an engineer, a pilot, a judge and lot more.

I can also remember being asked the same question by my primary school teacher and I was slapped across the face on replying back that I didn’t know what I wanted to become in future  since I don’t know what fate has in stock for me. Although I had the passion of  joining the Nigeria Army but I doubt if my body would be able to withstand all those rigorous training and beating for just two days.

To join the MAN-O-WAR back then at AFROGRAMS was never in my mind after witnessing my Yellow Pawpaw brother [Jamiu Akindele] getting the beating of his life at the MAN-O-WAR training session on the African church grammar school football field which served as a training pergola for all members of the MAN-O-WAR back  then.

Nevertheless, I only thought it is only in Nigeria alone that some parents choose what career their children should follow not unitl I encountered this drama between this Uganda woman and her teenage daughter on the public bus.

This woman was having a hot conversation with her daughter after the girl retaliated on going to the college to study Media and Drama but the woman was emphasising on how some family members are studying towards pharmacy, engineering and so on.

As a mere spectator I can only imagine how many children are out there in colleges and universities studying courses they personally crave for and not what their families really want them to do? I don’t know if you are experiencing such barbaric act or if you have undergone such enforcement by your families because you might be in college studying a degree you really don’t want to study.

Are you enjoying your studies? Are you just studying for a course because of one reason or the other? Are you the one who choose the course you are studying now or about to study?

People should be allowed to study any courses of their choices be it Media, P.E, Drama, Dancing and others courses without interference from family member. It’s really nice sharing my view with the Uganda woman and her teenager daughter on the bus that fateful day and I hope the Uganda teenager is allowed the choice of her academic orientation.

Should parents choose degrees for their children? Kindly assist with this survey about African childrens studying in the UK by replying to this article or sending me an e-mail on pkuforiji1@hotmail.com

Thanks,
Femi Kuforiji [ A freelance Researcher]