GIC counsels parents to desist from choosing career path for children

• Calls on government to provide more tertiary institutions

The Glorious Islamic Centre (GIC) has called on parents and guardians to desist from forcing career paths on their children, adding that choosing a career for their children is a strong determinant in how fulfilled and successful the children turn out later in life.

The organisation noted that students have to take into account many things when choosing their career, and likewise, their parents or guardians have a role to play in ensuring they make their own informed decisions.

Speaking during the organisation’s ‘2021 Career Talk’ organised for students in secondary schools across Lagos State, the President of GIC, Akin Laguda, said the yearly event is organised to counsel students on the right career path, as making the right choice requires a lot of patience and thinking, as they need to analyse various fields as well as different colleges.

“Being a teenager, it is really difficult to make the correct choice. Most of these students choose the path chosen for them by their parents,” Laguda said.

He added that another factor affecting students’ career choice is the dearth of facilities, lecturers and equipment in Nigeria’s higher institutions.

Apart from parental influence, he said the dearth of tertiary institutions in the country is another call for concern. According to him, “The government is finding it difficult to put down facilities for certain courses due to the shortfall in the education sector. Admission seekers are persuaded to settle for any available course.”

He urged governments to tackle the deficit in the sector, by putting more funds into it.

In his remark, GIC Chairman Education Committee, Mr. Moshood Bolaji Ligali, noted that the foundation offers a number of human capacity development projects ranging from skills acquisition, career day, essay competitions, Islamic education and others.

“ As a result of this career talk day, we have students that we have counseled on the right career part and they are studying medicine, engineering and law in various universities across the country.

“ At GIC, we recognise the development of skills. Not everybody will be able to go to university and not everybody will have the opportunity of being given the training to be whatever they like but we have a skill centre where we try to encourage young and older people. We offer skills discipline in catering, fashion design and ICT so that they can be useful to themselves. After the training, we arrange an internship in an organisation for them, to serve so that at the end of the day, they will be able to stand on their own.”

The Assistant Director, Drug Demand Reduction Division (NAFDAC), Mrs. Clara Anyanwu, while counselling the students, said the major factors that affect students when choosing a career is ‘Not knowing and ignorance’.

“We are not having the usual parental time that we should have with our children. A parent is meant to guide the children on the right career path. Children just wake up, they see all sorts of careers, they don’t know what it takes, what it entails if it will pay them or will fit them. By the time a child reaches that age when he has to decide, he doesn’t know what to do or where to go because there is no form of guidance.”

She commended GIC’s unrelenting effort in ensuring students pick the right career in life.

“ I’m very happy with what GIC is actually doing, this is actually my third time and they try to keep the students on track whether their parents guide them or not.

While commenting on tertiary institutions offering the courses they don’t want, she said, rather than the student wasting his or her time, they should not bother to venture into such courses, because it is a pure waste of time.”

“First of all you are wasting money, you know in your heart you are just trying to get a degree and in the end, you become upset or angry with the society and angry with the world.

“For me, when you are looking for the best opportunity to choose a career, look within yourself and find the talent that will keep you going. Sometimes, you may find something that will keep you going and you may not find the link to go on that track and when the opportunity presents itself for you to go in the way you want then you will now go wholeheartedly and confidently because you are already doing what you like.”