One of the reasons we go to university after secondary school is, among other things, to acquire relevant skills to build a successful professional career. There are some courses you study at the university that present high prospects of being employable and enjoying financial security after graduation, while other courses offer a slim chance of getting employed or putting the acquired skills to use in Nigeria. In this article, we’ll discuss the courses with poor prospects in Nigeria. Read on to find out the 10 most useless courses in Nigeria.
The 10 most useless courses in Nigeria would be discussed below:
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Christian Religious Studies
Christian Religious Studies, which is devoted to analyzing Christian beliefs, behaviours and institutions, is one of the courses in Nigeria that offers a low chance of building a successful career after graduation.
The skills developed during a Christian Religious Studies degree are not sought-after in the Nigerian labour market, hence the career options available to a graduate of this course are limited. Graduates of Christian Religious Studies may likely end up as CRS teachers in secondary schools and seminaries. And we know that teaching as a career in Nigeria is generally not lucrative.
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Social Studies
Social Studies is another course that is not marketable in Nigeria. The skills that a Social Studies graduate acquires during his degree are not sought-after in the Nigerian labour market. The unmarketability of a Social Studies degree in Nigeria makes the time and resources spent acquiring feel like a waste.
The possible career options available to a Social Studies graduate are limited and may set you back a few years unless you do a postgraduate course in something more lucrative to improve your chances of being employed and landing a job with competitive pay.
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Home Economics
Home Economics is another course worthy of this list because the skills that a graduate of this course would develop during his degree can be learnt in a shorter period without studying Home Economics in the university. Skills such as cooking, sewing, catering, and other household management skills that graduates of Home Economics develop in a space of four years can be learnt in under a year, saving time and money. Other than that, an Home Economics degree in Nigeria does not confer prestige on the holder, nor does it provide an opportunity for securing high-paying jobs and career advancement.
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Horticulture
Horticulture, which is the study and cultivation of ornamental plants, presents a slim possibility for graduates of the course to build a successful career in Nigeria. Although the agriculture sector is the second-highest contributor to the Nigerian economy, just behind the oil and gas sector, the demand for horticulturists in agricultural establishments and other sectors is very low. The low employability and lack of financial security that a degree in Horticulture offers to graduates of the course make it one of the most useless courses to study in Nigeria.
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Sociology
Sociology as a course in a university is concerned with the study of human behaviour, social relations, and society at large, including how people interact with one another and the consequences of social change. However, the skills you’d obtain from spending four years studying this course in the university do not usually have available job opportunities where you can apply them in Nigeria. Hence, sociologists in Nigeria find it hard to secure jobs where their acquired skills are needed.
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Zoology
Zoology as a course in the university is concerned with the study of behaviour, structure, physiology, classification, and distribution of animals and how they interact with their ecosystems. After graduation, zoologists would normally find work in a zoo, but in Nigeria where zoos aren’t functional, it becomes quite difficult to be gainfully employed. Although zoologists may also work in animal breeding units and livestock companies, there is always stiff competition with veterinary doctors for those job opportunities.
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Archaeology
Archaeology is a course that revolves around the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analyses of artefacts and other physical remains to reconstruct the cultural history of a region. The structure of Archaeology as a course in Nigeria is not well structured as there is a lack of dating facilities in the universities across Nigeria. After graduation, graduates of this course find it hard to land jobs as there is an apparent lack of adequate funding which has caused a lag in archaeological research in Nigeria.
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Library Science
Library Science is another course that does not offer high prospects of finding a high-paying job after obtaining a degree in the course in Nigeria. Graduates of Library Science would normally find work in libraries, but in Nigeria where a huge percentage of public and private libraries are moribund, save for libraries in some higher institutions, it makes the job search quite strenuous.
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Political Science
Political Science is a course that is concerned with the study of political institutions, including the principles, organizations and methods of government. In Nigeria, graduates of Political Science do not have vast career options to explore. Majority of the Nigerian politicians do not have any background in Political Science. So, a degree in Political Science does not guarantee entry into the Nigerian political scene.
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Physical and Health Education
Physical and Health Education is a course that focuses on the study of human movements with circular opportunities that broaden sociocultural experiences and promote health and well-being through physical activities. However, most of the knowledge and skills you can get during a Physical and Health Education degree can be learnt from outside the four walls of a university and in less time.
The courses we’ve discussed above are useless in Nigeria because of the structure of the Nigerian educational system and the labour market as more courses are in demand than others. Developing hard and soft skills, taking online courses, applying for internships, and building a network are some ways to augment a useless degree, so you can improve your employability.