The Plights of ‘Certificate Graduates’ Who Read and Refused to Study (1)

The Plights of ‘Certificate Graduates’ Who Read and Refused to Study (1)

By: Balami Lazarus

It’s the hope and aspirations of many young Nigerians, male or female, to acquire and have a sound basic academic qualification, preferably a degree, that he/she can reasonably defend in character and in learning. And productively add value to his society and self.

As a certified graduate with a degree certificate? Are you competent to defend your educational qualification at any point in time? A competent university graduate has the knowledge and intellectual capacity to speak, defend, and be proud of his academic discipline. Such graduates are well baked.

I am not in any way undermining other good graduates from other tertiary educational institutions who are capable and able to be called graduates.

Why am I specific with university graduates? It has to do with my experiences in recent times with some of them that have no measure of basic knowledge of their course of study, talk less of general knowledge. This class of graduates lacks knowledge and understanding of their academic discipline; they are behind in confidence, basking in timidity. They are always found wanting in multiple dimensions as so-called graduates. What a shame!

Now let’s begin to see the plights of a ‘certificate graduate.’ What is your name, young man? My name is Takulash. What did you study? I read political science. You read, not studied, yes sir. No wonder you cannot defend your degree certificate and its class? This is one scenario that is common in an interface with a ‘certificate graduate.’

I was privileged to be on interview panels where I engaged graduates both written and orally. Of late, many university graduates are only certificate carriers without simple knowledge of what they claimed to have studied. What has contributed to these problems? This question has been on the lips of concerned citizens and stakeholders. Some said there is a fall in standard. Others hinged on corruption practices in our educational institutions. Whatever the challenges or

the problems are? I will attribute it to the negligence of our educational system, corruption, and the proliferation of private universities in Nigeria. Basically I will say for business purposes.

Another major reason that has brought up the issues of ‘certificate graduates’ is the poor educational backgrounds of pupils, right?

from primary schools that have been neglected and left unattended, the case of public primary and secondary schools that are feeders to higher educational institutions are not cared for. With a poor educational background, how can students perform to the expectations of the universities and be productive to society as proud and competent university graduates?

My heart bleeds whenever I interface with such graduates that cannot justify their degree certificates. They are the ones that just passed through the ivory tower without any meaningful academic/intellectual gains. Many of them were corruptly aided by their teachers and supported by their parents, a common factor in most private universities where academic programs have been commercialized, including grades for monetary exchange.

These undergraduates cannot stand on their own. They are always looking for someone to do their academic work/assignments. Are you aware that ‘certificate graduates’ cannot fill out a simple form or apply for a job and/oranswer general knowledge questions in an interview?

In fact, ‘certificate graduates’ cannot withstand the challenges of society and her labor market. Many of them are not brilliant but are full of strange and criminal behaviors, and they can do anything to obtain their certificates. They have refused to allow the university to pass through them.

The Plights of ‘Certificate Graduates’ Who Read and Refused to Study (1)