Editor,

RE: "Teachers’ platform: How varsity students can avoid retakes” (The New Times, March 2).

The message you’re giving here is a blessing to the students who like comfort zone. In my experience as a journalism lecturer, I have seen two cases of students: the evening and day classes.

My evening students always come in lectures without being pushed, and take assignments and tests very seriously. The majority of these students work and pay their tuition, they are not ‘daddy’s and mummy’s children’.

They are independent and have the curiosity to adventure and are very active, they concentrate and ask questions in lectures, sit for their examinations well with the exception of a few, who, for varying reasons, decide to forego general final exams and opt for retakes.

Some students tend to believe that retakes are easier compared to the first examinations. These students move with laptops, tablets, expensive smartphones with headsets, and they like to use social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. They also need lecturers to follow them up for assignments, tests and even being reminded about examinations.

I always advise my students to avoid the bandwagon effect or peer pressure at the university. When you fail an examination, you fail it as an individual—not as a group on Facebook or WhatsApp.

Have you ever thought about collecting your transcript? Whether you line up, you collect your transcript and certificate as an individual, not as a group. You go for a job interview, whether you impress and get the job or fail, you do it individually.

Also, students should remember that failing an examination means failing their parent, guardian or the sponsor who pays for their tuition.

I have seen many students from well to-do families failing to complete their studies simply because of living massaged and comfort zone life, for instance, such students like driving big cars and they oversleep.

It’s paramount to note that socializing is part of life for any rightful thinking member of society, but one has to choose well their friends. I think it’s the co-responsibility of every parent and citizen to mentor our children to be responsible in whatever they do in order to develop the nation.

Depositing huge amounts of money into their accounts without education to teach them how to make more money and keep it is not in any way going to be sustainable.

Henry Mapesa