Time to revive career guidance

Jul 27, 2010

THE old students of Mvara Secondary School in Arua district last week attributed poor academic performance to lack of career guidance. One of the students pointed out that all professions are capable of leading to successful careers as long as one is focused.

THE old students of Mvara Secondary School in Arua district last week attributed poor academic performance to lack of career guidance. One of the students pointed out that all professions are capable of leading to successful careers as long as one is focused.

With a population of 30 million and close to 30 universities, Uganda has become extremely competitive in both education placement and the job market.

Career guidance has taken a back seat in the face of cut-throat competition for government sponsorship in higher institutions of learning. It is only the cream of the cream who stand a chance to study courses of their choice, get state sponsorship and a job in the end.

As a result of this ruthless competition, many students end up making wrong choices. Because of the incentive of state-sponsorship, many students have found themselves attempting to do courses for which they have neither ability nor interest.

The emphasis on sciences by the Government has aggravated the situation. More than 20 years ago, there used to be career masters in all schools who would guide students as to what course was most likely to be beneficial to them. The career master made the proposals based on what he knew of the students’ strengths and/or weaknesses.

Today, because of over-emphasis on certain courses as “more paying”, students have found themselves in a dilemma. That is why it is common to find a graduate of industrial chemistry working as a teller in a bank!
Career guidance is all about helping students acquire self-awareness. It is wrong to take a course merely because of peer pressure or unprofessional influence from parents or older people.

In the past, many students were assured of jobs as soon as they wrote their last paper. With the mushrooming universities and the East African common market, that is becoming a mirage. It is time to resuscitate career guidance in schools.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});