Hey guys, compliments of the season!!!!, How has it been going with you guys, I have been wanting to write, but mehn I have been on energy saving mood lately….So finally I decide to jump on the band wagon and take the bull by the horn mehn, So now am sitting down on my chair with my drink….Yeah!!! Did I tell you guys am a mixologist *wears evil grin*.

Lately, I can’t really discern what’s really wrong with me oo…..It’s like I have been officially admitted in to the YnC crew even though I will say mine is younger and confused. Sometimes I just sit down and begin to ponder over so many things, those worth worrying about and those that ain’t worth, so I decided I was going to write to myself and share it on the blog just in case someone out there needs those words.

Dear Self,

Anytime you are feeling that which you can’t possibly explain to people just do these.

When we were growing up as kids it was every ones dream to either be a doctor, a lawyer, a banker or an engineer. Even if you go into the streets today about 90% of the kids you will ask what they will want to be in the future will most likely choose either of the four professions. This is because the society has painted these professions to be for those who are intelligent or who want to be wealthy or influential in the society.

And it is a shame that we grew up to accept this. This is evident in the number of students who apply for this courses annually. And some of the students who wouldn’t want to give up on their childhood dreams have been kept at home for years seeking to get an opportunity to study these courses in the tertiary institution. Not that these courses are bad but the world wouldn’t be complete and certainly wouldn’t be the way it is, if we were all either a doctor, a lawyer, a banker or an engineer.

It is quite unfortunate that even in this 21^st century very little is known about some very interesting courses like biochemistry, microbiology, statistics, international relations, forestry, geophysics, Biotechnology etc. Nobody tells us about the wide range of options we have at our disposal even at the point of taking our senior secondary certificate examination. Our first contact with them is usually on our jamb brochure. Even at that we only look at them in awe and don’t often make try to change our minds. Some only come back to take a second look after they have been denied admission severally.

This is because very little is known about them prior to taking jamb and they are often not seen as lucrative. Our parents do not help matters as most of them force it on their children to study a particular course which was their childhood dream, wanting them to live their own dreams which eluded them. And it is sad to say that even the parents who claim to be educated are mostly involved in this.

The effects of these lack of orientation cannot be over emphasised as many students who could have been wonderful Biochemists sit at home waiting for medicine. When they could use the time to bag a degree in any other health related course which would help them understand medicine better if they so wish to go after it in the future.

Even some students who end up getting the courses they applied for blindly (or the one they were given by the university which was not their choice), out of frustration of staying at home for too long, without knowing what it entails end up regretting when they realise what they have gotten themselves into. But at this time so much time and energy has already been spent in the wrong direction. Little wonder the increase in the number of school dropouts, as the students are not able to come to terms with the challenges they meet in the course of study. Some who struggle to make it through even with repeated failure not because they are not intelligent but because their intellect would be better put to use elsewhere.

And once the enthusiasm has been lost, education which was supposed to be fun becomes a thorn in the flesh and a thing of endurance. Some who can no longer cope end up dropping out or switching courses if they are lucky enough. Some out of frustration of repeated failures summing up to extra years end up becoming cultists or miscreants in school.  

At the end of the day we have graduates who know next to nothing about the courses they studied even when they come out with good results. Even the ones who out of their desire to succeed in it try to know a thing or two about the course, obviously would not make use of the knowledge due to lack of enthusiasm. 

Most persons haven’t really seen this as a problem, because the battle is usually between the student and the course. Those who end up succeeding have been hailed but those who end up failing have been seen as never do wells. This ill has to be corrected. There should be massive orientation in secondary schools on other to make students know the various options they have to choose from as a choice of career. And also the details of what each course entails. So that the choice of a course would be a conscious effort and not something to be delved into blindly.

Parents should also help their children by not forcing them to live their dreams, rather make them understand better the options that is available to them.

Even though some persons have been lucky enough to find their true calling in such erroneous situation. As they end up doing exceptionally well and also enjoying these courses they leapt into without looking.  I strongly believe the choice of a course should be a conscious choice, only then could a student be held responsible for what comes out of it.

Okoro Chigozie

PS: Big ups to my course rep for this piece, lately it just seems like I have been on energy saving mode as regards my blog eh. In the spirit of xmas, make una no forget me as una dey chop rice ooo.