For a Higher Level of Education, Mandatory Class Attendance Should Be Maintained at the American University of Nigeria

It is normal that once in school, your mindset should change. The laid-back and relaxed person you were at home should not be the same person you are in school. Talk less of college, where the system of education is much tougher. It is understandable that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy as the popular saying goes, but this should not apply to classes. The knowledge gained from a lecturer through lectures is something that could only through maybe a weekend’s worth of studying. Reading should solidify what you heard in class. As such, adjusting your mindset to that of somebody in school will entail attending classes. Compulsory attendance of classes by AUN students as a result will guarantee higher learning and understanding, participation hence socialization and sharing of knowledge.

Truth be told, some students who pay their fees and come to class occasionally end up passing, but not all. Even those that do pass do so averagely. With high school fees of above one million Naira at AUN, one could only feel pity towards the parents who have made such sacrifices. By ensuring that classes are compulsory, students prone to missing classes and as a result engaging in malpractices due to free time would be more involved in school work. This whether knowingly or unknowingly, will improve their grades. For example, if Tom, a student noted for truancy got a “B” in a course, started going to class, a higher grade would be ensured because he is listening to lectures. Therefore, higher learning and understanding that would be achieved, would benefit not only the student and AUN as a whole, but encourage the parents as well.

Being present in class doesn’t involve only listening to lectures but participating also. Asking and answering questions and student grouping for projects and presentations, forms the whole package. Like what is currently being done by most lecturers in AUN where participation is given a percentage of the students’ final grade, students are literally forced to participate. This participation doesn’t just end at everybody learning. It enables students to engage in useful conversations with one another, hence socializing and thus killing two birds with one stone. The fear in some students to interact with new people and talk in front of people would gradually disappear, giving room for a new and improved person, one capable of building relationships. Thus, mandating attendance would ensure that students at AUN be prepared to socialize and interact with colleagues and others in future.