OpEd: New Students And Universities

These days, it is open secret that most if not all things come with mixed reactions. Times have gone by, one would say. Maybe most of these things do not use to be the case, but current trends suggest otherwise.

Today, I want to talk about the new crop of university students in Sierra Leone. The recently released WASSCE results have come with speculations and counter-speculations at least for a good number of candidates and that is just if we manage not to universally generalize things.

Competence, credibility, reliability etc., are some of the norms that come to mind and depending on who you talk to, the contents may be pessimistic and or optimistic.

However, I wish to pen these few lines to shed some light and so it is hoped that all concerned would be reminded about some of these topical postulations.

Students in Sierra Leone may not have a range of varsity choices. I can literarily name all unis in here, but let’s save the free publicity for some other time. As a member of the University of Sierra Leone however, maybe it is safer to say that USL had been the first choice for most if not all candidates.

However, one current challenge is the fact that the university cannot accommodate all students. That is a painful elaboration of the obvious. So, the lucky ones have to up their games and tightly too. Let me agree that we need more unis and that the existing ones need more capacitation!

As a Lecturer and academic enthusiast, I can confirm that there have been instances that have suggested that some students have no business in the university. When such scenarios show up however, one would be tempted to ask how some of these students passed the WASSCE. A ‘very genuine’ perspective is the bone of contention here.

I am on record to have said that a pupil that ‘clearly passed’ the English Language at WASSCE level should write good and correct English. However, some of the things that some of our students write tend to defeat such purposes. Some of such poor constructions are so unbearable. They make one begin to wonder how the WASSCE was passed in the first place.

To cut a long matter very short, efforts have to be made. People, pupils and students have to put in more work and those works should be ‘hard work.’ When some of us wrote the WASSCE ages ago, others will say we were unlucky because there was no WhatsApp for example. I will say we were lucky to have gone through the hard and right processes.

Today, there are allegations (serious ones at that) of schools and centres secretly or sometimes even openly condoning examination malpractice. The ACC has had to make several arrests. Some naming and shaming had even taken place. This is not news. Hopefully, we all could do better.

In the university, I will expect that all my students have been trained to study well. I am hopeful that my new students for example should be able to write ‘simple and correct English,’ otherwise, how was the WASSCE English Language passed? Again, this goes back to all of us. If we could condone irregularities in examinations and allow these pupils and students sail through, what will we say is the hope of our nation? If these vices continue, every profession will be at risk and the consequences would be disastrous. If hard work is success, maybe we all should work really hard.

The university should shape people, but if the person had not been molded to be shaped accordingly, there may as well be a problem. The more we do things correctly, chances are that ‘the more and the better we get at same.’ This is not rocketing science. Now, I know for a fact that the new university environment may or may not be strange to some students, but then, prioritizing issues is of greater significance.

Passion and commitment also matter is such discussions. If you find yourself at the university, get a purpose already. The moment the requirements are in, one has to determine what he or she intends to study. Mentors, friends and family could be of help. This is to make things easier and better. Otherwise, the hassle may be burdensome.

I will conclude by urging that we continue to get things right and apt. Nothing is easy, but it is safer and better to do things rightly. It matters because such things enhance realistic and professional outputs. Imagine getting to work with someone that has graduated from college, but cannot do the job? This is another area we could talk on. So, maybe varsities should enhance more practicalities for students because in the end, it’s about preparing them for the job market. See you in another narration.