As the name implies, a university is a place where we meet all kinds of people from around the world –
people from different backgrounds, people with different belief systems and
ideologies about life. Of all the people we come in contact with, lecturers are
the most influential because, in one way or the other, we believe about 70% of
what they tell us, and their attitudes towards us can either affect us
negatively or positively. Lecturers, not being oblivious of this, choose to use
their influential powers on students negatively or positively. Such choice has
divided these academics into five (5) groups:
1. The guardians
These lecturers care
about the academic performance and general well-being of every student
in their classes and the university at large. They keenly teach their students
and resolutely ensure that their students never miss any lecture except they
give a convincing reason. They devise means to achieve this. These lecturers do not
derive pleasure in failing their students; thus, before the end of every
class/lesson, they dedicate a few minutes to instructing their students on how
to answer their examination questions. Sometimes, they jokingly state their
likely examination questions in class.
One intriguing thing
about these lecturers is that they judge their performance based on their
students' performance in their courses. As a result, they try as much as
possible to avoid failure by giving their students their best! Unfortunately,
we have a handful of them in Nigerian universities.
2. The 'I don’t care'
lecturers
Unlike the guardians,
these lecturers don’t give a hoot about students. They assume students know
everything and their role is just to take them through some few areas of the
curriculum. They don’t care whether you attend classes or not; whether you fail
or not is not their concern. You just have to work out your salvation with fear
and trembling! Too bad!
3. The ghosts
Ghost lecturers are those
who are unpredictable. You don’t know whether they'll come to class or not.
They can attend only one lecture just for a few minutes and disappear until the
end of the semester. Most times, they reappear only when you are taking their
exams. I call them hypocrites because they present their examination questions
to look as if they've taught very well. Most times, students who take their
courses are almost empty in those areas. It takes only the hardworking students
to break even in their courses.
4. The Braggarts
These are lecturers who
will tell you how they have made it in life, how their children are schooling
abroad, the expensive property they own within and outside country and the
pitiable state of the country's educational system. In fact, they teach
'bragging' in class. The aim is to belittle their students and make mockery of
their students' parents' inability (or penury).
5. The academic demons
Some persons call them
'sadists,' but I call them 'the academic demons' because they share the same
DNA with the devil. Like Satan in the world, they are out to cause harm to
students of the university community. Some of their features are:
i. It is abominable if
about 70% of their students pass their courses.
ii. Irrespective of what
you've written, they fail you or give you low grades in their courses if you
fail to 'sort' them.
iii. They derive pleasure
in failing students.
iv. As project
supervisors, they are hardly available to their 'supervisees'. They only make
themselves available one month to project defence and expects their students to
perform magic within the said period.
v. They believe students
don't deserve a good treat.
vi. They love to see
students cry or at their mercy.
In sum, university
students should learn to understand their lecturers and how to live with them
in order to avoid a fallout in their academic pursuit. They should never let a
lecturer's attitude make them fail a course.
