Parents Cautioned Against Choosing Career For Wards

The Glorious Islamic Centre (GIC) has urged parents and guidance to desist from enforcing career paths on their children.

The centre noted that children have to take into account many things when choosing a career and likewise their parents or guidance have a role to play in ensuring they make their own informed decisions.

President of GIC Alhaji Akin Laguda during a ‘Career Talk,’ said right career choice requires a lot of patience, thinking and analysis.

“Being a teenager, it is really difficult to make the correct choice. Most parents chose careers for their children,” he said.

He said another factor affecting students’ career choice is the dearth of facilities, lecturers and equipment in Nigeria higher institutions.

“Apart from parental influence on career choice, not having enough tertiary institutions in the country is another call for concern. The government is finding it difficult to create primarily places or facilities for certain courses, due to the shortfall in the education sectors. Admission seekers are persuaded to settle for any available courses,” he said.

He urged governments to tackle the deficit in the education sector by pumping more funds into the sector.

The Assistant Director, Drug Demand Reduction Division, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mrs. Clara Anyanwu, said the major factors affecting students when choosing a career is ignorance.

“We are not having the usual parental time that we should have with our children. A parent is meant to guide the children on the right career path. Children just wake up, they see all sorts of careers, they don’t know what it takes, what it entails, if it will pay them or will fit them.  By the time a child reaches that age when he has to decide, he doesn’t know what to do or where to go because there is no proper guidance,” she said.

She commended GIC’s unrelenting effort in ensuring students pick the right career in life.

“I’m very happy with what GIC is actually doing, this is actually my third time and they try to keep the students on track whether their parent guide them or not,” she said.

GIC’s Education Committee Chairman Moshood Ligali, said the foundation offers capacity development projects ranging from skills acquisition, career day, essay competitions, Islamic education and others.

“As a result of this career talk day, we have students that we have counsel on the right career part and they are in higher institutions studying medicine, engineering and law in various universities across the country,” he said.