Hello everyone, happy new month! Trust you had an amazing week. My scholar for the week is an amazing young man. Sikiru Moshood is a Software Engineer. Let me save the story for another time.
In his words,
there is a serious gap between the actual practices in industries compared to what any first-class individual is competent in. Or what they are exposed to, based on what he/she has been taught in school. Until this is fixed, a lot of first class may still be performance-challenged and find it difficult to get lucrative jobs.
Enjoy!
Abigael Ibikunle of Edugist: Please share with Edugist, a little about your background.
Sikiru Moshood: My name is Sikiru Moshood. I am a smart working individual who has passion for knowing how things work. This made me very inquisitive and seek better ways of doing things. Growing up as a child, even though I always topped my class, I never saw it as anything special.
My parents made me believe in doing the right thing and of course, doing it well. Bearing this in mind, I never settled for less in anything I lay my hands on. My belief up to this point is that:
Nothing is really difficult in life, unless what you do not know.
So, each time I find it difficult to achieve anything, I recite this sentence to myself. And this prompts me into searching for knowledge and ideas in a tireless manner.
AI: Was there any motivating factor(s) that influenced your choice of discipline and institution?
SM: Discipline, yes. Institution, No. I chose to study Computer Science all because of my interest in knowing how computers worked. I have always had the dream that I would be able to program the computer to execute tasks for me someday. That I do now, and it is really amazing.
AI: There are two major skills that every student must possess: COMPETENCE and PERFORMANCE. While competence revolves around skill acquisition, performance is much more concerned about skills application. It is believed that most graduates are competent because their academic performance testifies to this. But they are performance-challenged. This poor performance ipso facto hinders them from getting lucrative jobs in the labour market. What can you say about this assertion?
SM: The answer to this is straight forward. I believe
there is a serious gap between the actual practices in industries compared to what any first-class individual is competent in. Or what they are exposed to, based on what he/she has been taught in school. Until this is fixed, a lot of first class may still be performance-challenged and find it difficult to get lucrative jobs.
Speaking for myself, my department was transformed from what it used to be – mathematics based to applied computing.
This clearly happened to expose the students to major skills that are in demand in technology industry.
So, I think other institutions may adopt this. Find out how most of the knowledge passed on are being applied presently in the related industry. And adjust its practices accordingly otherwise, half-baked first-class students will always be produced to roam the streets. Unfortunately, without having the skills any lucrative job demands.
AI: What do you think is responsible for competence without performance? Please suggest ways of improving the performance level of university students and graduates.
SM: Two major things responsible for competence without performance:
- Students mindset: Some students limit themselves to what they have been taught in class alone. They believe they are ready to work in the industry since they have good grades.
- School expose students to archaic practices which are no longer applied in the modern world we live in.
Ways to improve the performance level:
Simply put,
curriculums should be revised and adjusted accordingly. Students should be shown more of why they should learn a topic and its relevance to them.
This is a very important concept. We need to always trigger that habit in students to push harder and learn more on their own. How can this be done? Market a topic to them, if possible show the student how it is applied with examples before even attempting to bore them with the theories. Manner of teaching should be tweaked to always reflect purpose to its subjects. Rather than imposing the knowledge and threatening its subjects with low grades.
We need to really change our approach to teaching if not, students feel threatened and will study to pass. Once they pass, they forget what they learnt in the process. Because they were never shown why they shouldnt and this gradually eats up their performance expectations.
AI: Achievement in life transcends one’s personal efforts. There were people who, during your programme, rendered some assistance that made your dreams a reality. Who are specific persons whose contribution you can’t forget in your first-class feat?
SM: The first people are my lecturers. They taught me well enough to be able to study on my own and pass my exams in the best way I could. I am indebted to my supervisor, Prof. A.T Akinwale for his support while taking my final projects. In all sincerity, I can say, most of what he taught me is now is benefiting me immensely. Honestly, I cannot thank him enough.
I had lots of support from my parents Mr. and Mrs. Sikiru as they never allowed distractions to creep into life. I was focused on my studies while they provided the necessary support to keep me firm in that lane.
Special thanks to my younger sister, Rashidat Sikiru who has always been my number one fan and believes so much in me. I didnt tour this journey alone obviously. I also had my baby, Ayomide Banire Kautharah that always motivates me to never stop pushing no matter what. One thing I definitely wont do is forget my best friends, Lasisi Moshood and Folarin Abigail. They both have always made my quest a memorable one. And with that, I remain indebted to them.
AI: As a first-class graduate, are you currently gainfully employed?
SM: Yes, currently a Software Engineer at a software firm here in Lagos.
AI: Do you think your grades have or is giving you any major advantage over other graduates with lesser grades?
SM: Of course. But I would not mention them here.
AI: For students who aspire to graduate with outstanding grade like yours, what would you advise them?
SM: First is, for them to believe they can. The most important thing again, is for them to ask lots of questions about what is unclear to them during their course of learning. With a little hard work and focus, it should not be a big deal.
AI: What would you advise the government to do to improve the standard of our education system?
SM: Setup workshops to equip lecturers with modern skills relevant to industries. Adjust curriculums to remove archaic and time-wasting courses. This way, we can be rest assured students will be well laced with the right knowledge to remain relevant to any industry.
AI: Any other thing you would like to share?
SM: Yes, I want people to know that there are so many desires that hard work alone will not fulfill. Unless with a sprinkle of grace. So, I say; Ask for Grace before taking on any Race.
That’s it for today’s episode on the first class diary series. I hope you enjoyed the episode. Got a scholar who needs to be featured?
Please reach out to me at abigail@edugist.org or +2347035835612. I remain Abigael Ibikunle, your favorite interviewer. See you next week!
