Passion or Pressure: Students Revealed What Really Motivated Their Studies

         Deborah Adeyemi 

In many higher institutions today, a growing concern is whether students genuinely have passion for the courses they are studying, or otherwise. While some students were admitted into the university with a clear love for their chosen fields, several others find themselves pursuing courses they have little or no interest in, often due to parental pressure, limited admission options, lack of proper career guidance or for not meeting up with the benchmarks.

This lack of connection between students and their course of study often leads to low motivation, lack of commitment to their studies, as they even begin to question their academic and sometimes career path.

In an interview with the Icons reporters, Praise, a 400level student of Mass Communication described the deep connection she has with her discipline.

 "I love speaking and engaging with people in an intellectual discourse. I am fascinated about all that mass communication entails with the expectations of dealing with public relations, social media engagement and live television stations."

A student of Psychology in her sophomore year traced her motivation for the course to her intrinsic value of studying people and what they are capable of doing in the subsequent minutes. In her own words, "I intentionally chose psychology to gain more understanding on why people behave the way they do, and also to change people's mentality about mental health, being the most conceptualized aspect of the course."

 A growing number of students never choose their course of study, but were transferred to another department they mostly do not want to be. Many who fall into this category sometimes attempt to switch back to the proposed department, while many desire to remain in their new department.

A student, while sharing her experiences explained that she was transferred from the Department of Accounting to Public Administration which she was never interested in, however, she found the course quite interesting in the long run.

 "It touches all disciplines like law, sociology, psychology, making me know little about all. I have the expectations of being an administrator or a leader"

In his own thoughts, Ahmad Olawoyin, a freshman of the faculty of law says he chose to study law because he desperately wanted a challenging course that required a lot of time, effort, and reading. Adding that his expectation is to  become a "law maker," causing change in the judiciary system of Nigeria.

Similarly, a final year student of the department of History, explained how the course has shaped her knowledge of journaling, critical and creative writing. 

“I was transferred to the History department with no expectation, but now,  I  have discovered my potential in the course."

 Tosin, a 300level student of Demography and Social Statistics says "people told me then that it was a useless course, I was really desperate to retake the UTME again and pursue my proposed course. But the course itself has changed the narrative.

 Students often experience difficulties in the academics especially when they study courses they have no intention of studying. Parents should refrain from compelling students to studying certain courses, rather, they should support and encourage the to portray excellence.