In Africa and Nigeria in particular, most undergraduate and even post graduate students are lost in the knowledge of the opportunities surrounding their student lives. Not until they are out of school, many would never realize them.
Students across various higher institutions in Nigeria seem to suffer from some common syndromes of misplacement of priority, unnecessary attachments to certain unmerited values and conventionalism. It’s heartbreaking realizing how much Nigeria students scarify every other value at the altar of first class honours and 2.1s. Students invest all their times on academic works and place all hope for a better tomorrow on the single sheet of paper to be offered them at the end of their academic struggles undermining the vast and magnificent opportunities in partaking in extra-curriculum activities – the core focus of this discussion.
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This may sound uninteresting but more than 70% of the skills required for the 21st century jobs and the core requirements of labour in the nearest future are not learnt within the confines of the class room walls; Think of critical problem solving skills, team work, human relations and people management, presentation and sound communication skills, social influence, impact measurement among others that are practically not learnable in classes.
One of the oldest surviving challenges fresh graduates face in scaling through an interview and securing a job is lack of experience. The Nigerian student believes he will gain experience when he is out of school and gets his first job – what an outdated approach.
There are several students based organizations, clubs and societies in Nigerian Universities that create the real world work settings and give students the opportunity for personal development. To mention only a few is ENACTUS, JCI, ROTARACT CLUB and many others. Undertaking a business and participating in school politics give you a better understanding of how life works than any entrepreneurship or political science course.
In addition to the benefits of personal development, students with extra-curriculum engagements have the ease of creating good network of friends, connecting with potential employers and most importantly, developed countries of the world, key governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) UK and US Departments for International Development (DFID) are concerned with and interested in students who are doing just more than the class room works. This recognition and interests provide such students with opportunities like scholarships, purposeful travelling, international recognition and certification. Helping to solve societal problems with much ease and in collaboration with other passionate individual from different walks of life is not left out of the advantages associated with extra-curriculum activities.
Take an action today! Don’t graduate an ordinary student, graduate prepared, become more than a graduate, get an added advantage be outstanding.
