‘We prepare young adults for university education and to achieve their goals in life’
By Tell us about yourself?
I am Mrs. Olajumoke Modupe Akere, Head of School, JSAY Prevarsity in Ibadan. I studied Economics for my bachelor’s degree and capped it with a Masters degree in Educational Management at the University of Ibadan. I also did another Masters programme in Social Works. Currently, I am a doctoral student in Educational Management at the University of Ibadan. I am also a Youth/Career Counsellor, an International Consultant on Education and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cherith Point Education and Youth Development Initiative, registered in Nigeria and the USA. I am married to the love of my life, Dr Adegboyega Akere and our union is blessed with lovely children.
What is the vision and mission statement of JSAY Prevarsity?
Our vision is to offer quality and world-class post-secondary education towards grooming teenagers, young people to succeed and be relevant globally while our mission is to serve the nation and the world at large by providing qualitative education that prepares young people for a successful life.
You belong to the first generation of educational institutions that started prevarsity centres in Ibadan. What was the motivation for this mode of preparing teenagers for the university?
To the Lord’s glory, I entered the university at a tender age. I had lots of challenges, particularly coping with peer pressure and balancing my academics with my Christian and social life. That experience fired my passion to run a pre-university school because I realised that going into the university without adequate preparation, guidance and the required skills, worked against my ambition to finish my degree programme with a first class.
The idea for a prevarsity was nurtured after I had finished my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC); it has always been my heart’s desire to help young adults wanting to gain admission into the university. Experience has shown that many bright students who performed excellently while in secondary school do not often live up to expectations in terms of sustaining the same performance when they enter the university. The reason for this is not unconnected with the inadequate preparations for university education and a successful life. Therefore, the period of preparation after students have completed their secondary school education is the ideal time to expose them to the advanced aspects of their proposed courses of study as this is crucial for a successful undergraduate programme. So, all the factors that can militate against the brilliant performance of students in the university are addressed. This fuelled my urge to set up a prevarsity centre to prepare young adults for university education, and we have been assisting many youths to actualise their dreams over the years, with endless testimonies.
So what exactly is your definition of pre-varsity?
Prevarsity education (prevarsity) is basically for secondary school leavers to bridge the gap between their secondary and tertiary education. I will define prevarsity education as a structured training or studies that young secondary school leavers undergo before getting into the university. Many youths are out of school without a vision, goal and sense of purpose and this is not limited to academics. So, it has to be a training that focuses on preparing young adults for university or tertiary education and a fulfilling dream, and this is what is obtainable in many developed countries. Therefore, any set of structured studies that prepares students for university education and a fulfilled life is what we refer to as prevarsity studies.
Today, Jsay prevarsity is a household name in Ibadan. Tell us about the genesis?
We actually didn’t even start as a prevarsity. The institution took off as College of Arts and Sciences because what was obtainable then was Higher School Certificate Examination (HSC), College of Arts and Sciences and so forth. But after two years, we found out that people did not understand the motive behind our vision. So, I came up with the idea of a pre-university and the school was called JSAY College of Arts and Sciences (A school for pre-university studies). A year after this, we noticed people still did not have a clear picture of the purpose of the institution so I eventually adopted pre-university as the name of the institution which was later shortened to prevarsity. Over time, parents have come to terms with the fact that the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) does not guarantee admission into the university, and here lies the importance of other options like A’ levels and so on. When we started, we employed teachers and then trained them to fit our set standard in order to achieve our vision. We retrain our teachers periodically so they can understand and work in line with our purpose and vision for the school.
Wrong combination of subjects in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) has denied many prospective candidates admission into tertiary institutions for courses of their dream. How have you been tackling this issue at JSAY?
Thank you for this all-important question. Many public and private secondary schools do not have Guidance Counsellors. Because of this vacuum, most secondary school students are not properly guided in their selection of subjects for both SSSCE and UTME. Consequently, there is an avoidable lapse in proper subject combinations for qualifying public examinations like SSSCE and UTME, and many prospective candidates painfully lose their admissions into tertiary institutions for their dream course of study. However, in JSAY, our students are well counselled on proper matching of both SSSCE and UTME for their proposed courses of study in higher institutions of learning. We have highly qualified teachers who are always on hand to see them through every preparatory stage of national and international examinations. As educators, we are always actively involved in the career prospects of our students at JSAY and so do not leave anything to chance.
What will you pinpoint as the main cause of poor performance of some students while in the university?
I would attribute this to so many reasons, in addition to lack of preparation and inadequate infrastructure. The availability of essential facilities will definitely boost the academic performance of students.
The wrong choice of course can also lead to struggles, dissatisfaction and eventually failure. Students should choose courses based on aptitude, interests and the skills they possess.
Incessant strike actions and the crisis between staff unions and government will affect the stability of institutions and the overall performance of students.
Also, the admission of underage students at any stage of education will result in a huge challenge for the students and the society at large. Immature students cannot cope with the multitasking nature of university life.
What is your advice for the young ones?
Vision is everything. The only thing that is better than being blind is having sight without vision. You must ask yourself: what do I want to achieve in five or ten years time? You should back this vision up with a dogged determination to succeed through the grace of God, no matter the challenges. You must also not be scared about failure because it is the courage to continue that counts, as many successful people persists until their dreams were achieved.
The post ‘We prepare young adults for university education and to achieve their goals in life’ appeared first on Tribune Online.