By Tordue Simon Targema
A senior colleague in the department of Geography, Taraba State University Dr Vincent Nduka Ojeh has invited me to present a talk to mark his birthday celebration with students at Omas Royal Academy, Jalingo. The topic was: Basic Tips for Academic Excellence.
Dr Ojeh has, over the years, developed the habit of celebrating his birthdays with secondary school students to mark the world “Call to Earth” day.
Over the years, he has used the occasion to share with the students, vital tips on climate change and best practices for safeguarding the ecosystem, as well as the basic tips that will enhance their academic, personality and career developments.
In the invitation call he put across to me for this presentation, Dr Ojeh said something that motivated me to develop an elaborate presentation for publication for a larger audience beyond his target students: “Bros, First Class is not rocket science, come and tell these students what the secret is.”
With these words, I have decided to give a deeper reflection on some of the vital tips that are required to propel one to academic excellence. Like Dr Ojeh rightly said, First Class is not rocket science.
After graduating with a first-class bachelor’s degree in 2014, I successfully mentored over a dozen students who also replicated the same feat both in my discipline and in other fields of study.
One thing that is obvious from the onset is that regardless of the discipline or institution, some basic tips are necessary to enable students attain this uncommon academic feat.
This essay gives a brief rundown of some of these tips with a view to guiding students on how best to attain academic excellence.
Students aspiring for academic excellence must, therefore, take special note of the following:
Avoid procrastination
This is one of the biggest obstacles to academic excellence. “There is still time” is the commonest excuse students give in their lackadaisical attitude to studies. Always endeavour to perform all academic tasks on time and don’t wait for the “last minute” as anything can come up and serve as obstacle when you are already out of time.
Always read ahead of timeand don’t wait for examination to come before you start reading. A serious student exhausts his syllabus right ahead of time and only revises during exam, while the lacklustre sorts wait for examination timetable to start reading.
At this point, tension is high, the brain is already tensed and confused, and understanding is extremely difficult.
As a serious student desirous of making good grades, read ahead of time, reconcile all grey areas right on time and prepare for examination before it eventually arrives.
Always read your notes after school
At this point, the lecture is still fresh in your memory. Go through your notes once you reach home and freshen up. Reconcile your notes with your friends, make sure they’re up-to-date and ensure you seek clarification for all grey points from your study circle, the library sources or online resources.
The mistake most students make is that they keep on taking notes and would never revisit them afterwards until it is time for CA test or examination.
Before that time comes, most salient points in the lectures have escaped their memories and reconciling the notes with the lectures becomes extremely difficult. Always go through your notes as the lecture is still fresh in your memory.
Read widely and consult extensively
Don’t limit yourself to lecture notes and hand-outs. Be hungry for knowledge and endeavour to know as much as is required of you.
Consult extensively to enrich your knowledge base. Discuss with your friends, consult your lecturers, visit the library and explore internet resources etc. to ensure that you are truly vast in your discipline- and other related disciplines too.
Knowledge has no bounds, and no knowledge is a waste, it’ll sure come handy someday. In today’s internet age, an unlimited volume of knowledge is deposited on the internet. Avail yourself the opportunity and explore extensively to satiate your academic and intellectual thirst.
Time management is of high essence
Equitable utilization and allocation of your time as a student is key to academic excellence. Sadly, most students lack this skill. As a student, you are faced with a lot of tasks- academics, social, religious, campus politics, business and lots of that.
Allocate your time for these various tasks accordingly based on priority and always make up for lost time the best you can in the interest of your studies.
Take all your courses seriously
It doesn’t matter whether it is a core course, elective or GST course. As long as you register a course, it is your course! Regardless of its status, once you register a course, your performance in it has effect on your CGPA.
The mistake most students make is to take core courses seriously, or courses with “strict” lecturers seriously at the expense of other courses.
Remember that CGPA is cumulative and performance in each course invariably affects your overall performance.
Crossbreed ideas with your mates
Studying in a group makes understanding easier. Apart from your private studies, have a group of like minds that you crossbreed ideas and enhance perspectives on issues discussed in the class.
Never allow others to dominate group discussions, always endeavour to contribute too and listen to others share their perspectives to the issues discussed as well.
That way, you’ll learn from them and refine your knowledge on your previous erroneous perspectives. Make your study groups lively, i.e. a give-and-take sort of arrangement where every member contributes to the knowledge pool for the benefit of all.
You don’t need to be stingy with knowledge, please share with others. Knowledge doesn’t finish when it is shared, but rather increases and gets more refined.
Avoid bad companions that put social life before academics
Keepingbad friends on campus is one of the biggest obstacles to academic excellence. Like the saying goes: birds of a feather flock together! Associate with like minds and people with the same priorities.
Colleagues who have different priorities have no business in your circle of friends.
To get your priorities right, you must purge your circle of friends and ensure that you only associate with like minds.
Remember, bad companions are a threat to your status as a student generally, not just your academic performance.
To be Continued
Tordue Simon Targema is a lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Taraba State University, Jalingo. Email: torduesimon@gmail.com
