Education is a big part of Nigerian society. People who are educated are always at a high advantage in the labour market in Nigeria. This is the major reason parents strive so hard to ensure their children complete their education to make things easier for them when they grow up.
The university is like a training ground where they provide information, skills, and opportunities in your studying course.
However, to get into any university, college, or other higher institution in Nigeria, you need to go through the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) and write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB provides the syllabus that will guide you in choosing the right subject combination for the course you’re applying for. Aside from this, they also assist you to know if the university or college you’re applying to is offering the course of your choice in that academic year.
In this article, we’ll be discussing the importance of a university degree in your career choice, the role of JAMB in students’ education, and how it can affect their career choice.
Importance of University Education in Nigeria
After finishing your 6 years in high school with a good SSCE result, the next thing is to further your education in the university to study the course of your choice.
Getting a university degree is a dream for many Nigerian students and their parents. Many students apply to universities before thinking of other higher institutions as alternatives. This explains why there are more universities than other higher institutions in Nigeria.
The years of study in Nigerian universities are usually between 4-6 years, depending on your course of study.
Deciding to go for university education will assist your career management journey. Here are some opportunities that come with studying at a university:
Learning About Your Course and How It Can Help Your Career
You may be attending a university due to your quest to build a sustainable career. To do this, you need all the theoretical knowledge and practical training you can get as you go through the learning process.
The university system has a well-structured syllabus, courses, and framework to enable students to achieve this. They will provide all the information you need at each academic level and also the career choice resources you will need that can assist you when working in your chosen profession.
Building a Strong Career Network
Networking is an essential tool in any line of work, and you can easily get the right ones for your chosen profession at the university. To start your profession on the right foot, you need essential people in that field to put you through.
You might want to start building a good relationship with your lecturers, and you can also connect with guest speakers invited to your school every year at any opportunity you get.
If you’re a science or engineering student, you can also connect with the technicians in your school. Mixing with students from other levels, especially those at the higher level, can also help your networking.
Higher Chances in the Labour Market
Have you ever wondered why students who went to other higher institutions or colleges always attempted crossing to the university to start afresh? Over the years, the labour market in Nigeria has been more favourable to graduates with a bachelor’s degree than those with no bachelor’s degree.
Organisations and industries are biased when it comes to employing new staff. They usually choose candidates with a university degree over candidates with none. Having a bachelor’s degree gives you an advantage in any organisation you want to work in over someone who does not have a Bachelor's degree.
High Income
One of the packages of having a university degree in your portfolio is high income.
Whether in a private or government organisation, a university graduate has a better chance of a higher income. People with a university degree tend to earn more money in their work than people with other lesser academic degrees.
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The Role of Jamb in Students’ Education and Career Choice
As a student looking forward to admission into college, you must be familiar with the term JAMB.
Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is an academic body founded in 1978 and responsible for higher institution admission affairs in Nigeria, while the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination is the examination you must take to be qualified for placement in any higher institution you choose.
JAMB is a major determinant of any Nigerian student’s career choice, so before picking up a JAMB form, you must thoroughly and carefully think about the lifetime decision you’re about to make.
When choosing your career-related course, you need to go through the revised JAMB brochure for that year to know the right subject combination for your course.
Choosing the wrong subject combination while filling out your JAMB form can significantly affect the course you might want to study. In addition, it can cost you your time if you're studying that particular course. If not, you can opt for other courses.
To register for JAMB, you must start by creating a profile on the JAMB portal, which involves providing all your details correctly. The profile you created on the JAMB portal is where you will check your results and any information regarding your admission.
To create a profile and register for JAMB, you can visit any JAMB accredited CBT centre in any part of Nigeria.
Filling in your JAMB form requires that you register for 4 subjects, including the use of English. So whether you’re an art, business, or science student, the use of English is essential in UTME, and you’re left to choose the remaining three subjects based on the course you want to study.
In addition, JAMB plays different roles in tertiary admission, and some of them include:
- Creating the UTME requirements for students
- Development and review of syllabus and brochure to guide candidates' UTME registration
- Helping UTME candidates know if an institution is open for a particular course for that academic year
- Conducting UTME every year for entry into various higher institution
- Giving out the necessary information about tertiary admission, usually via the portal, social media, or news
- Placement of eligible candidates into tertiary institutions in conjunction with each higher institution's admission bodies
This is why academic appraisals are important in Nigeria!
Finding JAMB Approved Courses
Now that you’re sure of the course and the university you want to study in, a prevalent issue you’re likely to face when preparing for UTME is picking a JAMB accredited course relating to what you want to study in your chosen university.
Unfortunately, this issue has cost many students their desired course as well as their time, if they do not know the courses that are in their chosen universities while registering to sit for the JAMB examination.
Before applying for UTME, you can visit the JAMB website for the brochure and syllabus to check for approved courses. This will help you avoid registering for a course not approved at your desired university.
In the JAMB brochure, there’s a list of approved courses for art, business, and science courses that you can choose from. You are to choose based on your line of study in secondary school.
Some of these courses include:
- Medicine and Surgery
- Pharmacy
- Nursing
- Engineering
- Computer science
- Law
- Political science
- Business administration
- Accounting, etc.
Getting the Right Career Guide With A Tutor On Superprof
Not all schools in Nigeria give a thorough career guide to their students on different universities and courses they can apply for. So it’s very logical if you may need extra assistance to avoid wasting your time.
On Superprof, you can get an expert life coach, career tutor, and education support tutor near you right in your state.
To choose a career path and make your entry into the college smooth, you need the proper training and guidance on the course you want to study and the universities that offer them.
You can find career tutors with years of experience on Superprof that will meet career and education needs. You can do this by reading reviews about them on the platform, and you can also check for their qualifications to make sure you’re choosing the ideal tutor for you.
Superprof tutoring sessions could be online or in-person, one-on-one or in a group. It all depends on your budget and the session you can work with.
Most of the tutors on Superprof offer the first hour of their lessons for free. This will allow you to determine if you want to continue the lessons or training with them.
To start your learning session on Superprof, you must have planned out your budget and learning mode. You should also list what you want to achieve with wit the tutor you choose.
Finally, with your chosen tutor on Superprof, you will be able to figure out what you want to study after your secondary school education. They will also help you with some training and guadiance to make entry into university easy.
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