Around here, students are mostly advised to take up professional courses, you know, like engineering, lab science, law, and others. Usually, there's a stuff competition to get admitted to study them, although the slots are limited(and not to forget, compromised).
Every now and then, there are debates and banners on social media and, in reality, thrown to certain other courses considered as 'useless,' around here
It contains a lot of truth as far as Nigeria system of employment is concerned. That doesn't invalidate the fact that people from these fields can make it in life.
Making money is not dependent on the course you studied, but still, as far as Nigeria system of employment is concerned, some courses are more lucrative than the others. Still, others who are not as lucrative as the former are not useless.
Every course is useful, but not every course is lucrative in Nigeria. And every graduate wishes to get employed once they get out of school with most using their certification.
I was studying organic chemistry at the University of Benin, which was not my course of choice. It may have been fun learning it and apart from me being determined to chase what i wanted, i wasn't seeing a job opportunities out there for it, so I did what I had to and moved to UNN to study Civil Engineering. I know, and you know too, that today and for a long time to come, there's an unimaginable difference between the two professions in the field of employment. It's just the system and what value we place on the course.
I do not agree that any course is useless. None is truly useless. They surely have a link to some field that can be explored. it's just that if you live here in Nigsria, it would be difficult to get employment opportunities in that field. It's even more difficult to get other job opportunities using that certificate, given that there are fewer openings for employment. Our country and the employment sector have not quite made provision for so many of these courses, and I often wonder why it's still part of the curriculum.
One of those courses that I don't even understand is fishery. I don't think I'll ever get it.
I see fishery not even as a skill but merely as a business that anyone could venture into. I know a good number of people who practice the trade. We even own a mini pond at my house, and not one of us passed through the four walls of a school. Yet, every one of us handles the business well, and it's growing.
Some of the people i know who practice this trade attend seminars and workshops every once a while to network and all but an actual institute for four years? No!That's absurd. I dont see the point. Who cares for a certificate in fishery?
Like, the time and money spent on fees and all to study the course could be put into setting up an actual pond and running it. If there's a need to learn how it works, a couple weeks or months of learning under someone who owns the business would be all it takes. Not to forget that practicals are barely carried out in these schools so that you graduate with little knowledge of the technicalities of the course.
Like I mentioned, engaging in the trade is amazing, but going on to study it as a course at the university, I don't see the point. I'd rather that the person studies some course in business and apply the knowledge into running an actual fishery.
I hope this was an interesting read. Thank you for stopping by.