HALF BAKED GRADUATE, WHOSE FAULT?

Every year, higher institutions in Nigeria produce over 300,000 graduates from all course of studies to the labour market and these graduates are to compete for the limited jobs available. And when these few companies employ these young and fresh graduates, they get disappointed because most of these graduates tend not to perform to expectation on the field. They graduate with good results such as First Class and Second Class Upper division, yet they cannot perform or practice what they studied in school which makes the society to wonder if they actually went to the higher institutions they claimed to have gone.

There are many factors involved in young graduates not being able to deliver well in the labour market making them “half-baked graduates”.

The Government, the Education System and the Students all have a quarter to play in this unpleasant cancer that has continued to eat up on our young graduates but the students will carry the greater blame because it is their life and only they can control it.

Yes, we agreed that the education system in Nigeria is nothing to write home about. The Government have turned deaf ears to the cry of the average Nigerian students. They prefer to feed themselves and allow the poor students get low quality education. The education system is messed up as students are still being taught ancient things to compete in a modern world. The textbooks in our library are outdated. Books written by dead authors with outdated information is what is being taught in higher institutions today and when these young students graduate with this outdated information, they tend not to be informed of the new and latest trend around them.

But the students will be blamed if they graduate without making good use of their time as students. Complaining about the Government or Education System will not solve anything or change the fact that the students have a greater role to play in learning and developing themselves.

As an undergraduate in one of Nigerian higher institutions, I was opportune to attend a seminar where I asked one of my lecturers why the education system was messed up. Graduates have to be trained for months after getting a job making it looked like they have wasted all their years in school as undergraduates. They cannot apply what they have learned in school as new technologies and machines are being used in the industry. The lecturer answered me and said that the education system was not to be blamed, rather the students are to be blamed. He said students are expected to study more and know about the latest technology and techniques in their field of study as the school cannot give them everything they need to succeed in life. And besides, most lecturers do not know everything.

The students should go and get latest information about what is happening in other parts of the world. The internet has made it so easy that students can get information around the world right from their bedroom. Videos are available on YouTube. Students in Nigeria can have access to videos from top institutions abroad and attend lectures overseas. Now the students have no excuse not to be updated of the recent happenings in his field of study.

Also, students should try and develop themselves while in school. They should learn skills like leadership skills, management skills and digital skills. They should learn things even out of their curriculum. These are things most industries are looking for in their employees and these things are not being taught in our institutions. It is now left for the students to learn these things themselves. They can take online courses on these areas. Students should try and learn soft-wares relating to their course of study as this will make them stand out among their peers.

The students should not allow the four walls of their classroom to limit them. They should not allow their outdated textbooks limit them. They should go out and get information themselves. These are the kind of graduates industries are looking for and at the end the company will be proud of them and the school they graduated from will be proud of them too.

The students can go for interns during the holiday and work with various industries. There are no much requirement for internship in Nigeria and anybody can benefit from this opportunity. The companies might not pay the students but the knowledge the students will get is priceless. This can also be used to boost their Curriculum Vitae.

And finally, the success of the Nigerian graduates is directly proportional to their smart work. No one can help them unless they help themselves. They should stop lazing around complaining and get to work and study. The students have the master key to greatness. They should not allow the education system decide their future. Their future is in their hands and when they graduate, companies will be looking for them because they know what others do not. A lot of students have succeeded under this education system; why can’t others do same?

The students should create the change they want to see in themselves.

Written by Livingstone Imonitie.
livingstoneimonitie@gmail.com
+234 810 606 8693

The system

It's like saying "Some animals like tiger can swim what da hell is wrong with my pig?"

I'll say the system is faulty already. They make us focus our attention on passing exams and we no longer see the need to prepare for the future. I'm in my final year now and believe me, I'm tired of school. The lecturers come with bulky notes that they don't have time to explain. Students read and read or lemme say we cram and cram. Memorizing facts and figures is all we do and that's the problem.

If you keep you food and a goat should eat it, you blame the goat right? That's where I see the students at fault. We blame the system forgetting that they are goats. If they should eat our food, blames won't bring it back. First, we've kept our foods where they can eat it by going tither school. But we must not allow them to dictate what we become. The curriculum was designed some years back and a lot of things have changed since then. It's our job as students to search for the latest thing about what our teachers are teaching us. Let's look for real life application of everything. Every subject, including mathematics, have real life application. Go to YouTube, google, search through the internet and find out what you don't know. If you are reading this right now you don't have excuse or not getting the information you need. You have the internet with you.

Nice of you to start this...