Despite all productive efforts, certain SIWES challenges and problems are being encountered by students during the practical training, hindering it from being fully effective.
8 Problems Encountered During SIWES
These are the challenges students face during SIWES training.
1. Lack of Orientation
Most Nigerian internship students aren’t being properly informed by their schools and departments about what the programme is all about.
Sometimes, they aren’t even guided on how to make payments for the collection of their receipts, forms, and logbooks.
As a result, they end up securing a place late for their training’s.
Among the challenges faced, this is one of the most important.
2. Lack of Supervision and Care
Some schools find it very difficult to go or send representatives to the various workplaces of their internship students – to monitor, supervise, grade and advise them on the right things to do.
Because of this, some students don’t even go for training at all.
3. Report Presentation
Most schools and lecturers are only interested in how well their internship students could defend and present their works (logbooks, reports), other than how much was benefited from and gained from the training.
Because of this, you may likely find a situation whereby a student who actually took part and benefited from the programme is awarded a poor grade due to Stage fright (i.e. the inability to come out of the class to boldly present his/her work) – whereas, another student who didn’t go for the training, but because of boldness and smartness in forging materials will be awarded a better grade.
4. Laziness of Workers
The high rate of laziness exhibited by some workers in firms where students undergo their industrial training is becoming quite alarming.
Majority of these workers sometimes see and take the internship students as servants.
For instance, instead of the students to be properly taught and shown the major activities, they’re now being instructed to carry out irrelevant jobs such as mopping floors, washing toilets.
5. Lack of Support
Majority of internship students aren’t being paid.
Some firms, despite being financially stable, find it very difficult to pay their interns.
Some even go as far as charging the internship students’ certain fees.
Certain internship students usually spend more than #1,000 daily on transport and at the end of the week, month or training are not even given a token by their firms to support.
This is one of the common challenges new interns face in Nigeria.
6. Pleasure
Most Nigerian internship students see the training period as a time to carry out unnecessary activities, such as travelling, partying due to lack of interest and motivation.
They eventually miss out on essential knowledge and information which will guide them in their various future occupations, goals and aspirations.
7. Documentation Format
Sometimes, I.T students aren’t being shown and taught the proper ways to correctly fill their logbooks, report writing.
They eventually end up making costly mistakes, which may likely affect their grades and performances.
8. Limited I.T Spaces
Firms accepting students for industrial training in the country are relatively few.
Sometimes, internship students migrate to only industrial states such as Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Abuja for their training, causing overpopulation and competition.
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Solutions to SIWES Challenges in Nigeria
1. Proper Orientation
The academic institutions should always ensure to organize orientation programmes for their internship students.
The students should be taught and shown the proper ways to:
- Pay, collect, and submit their receipts, forms and logbooks
- Write and forward their application letters
- Fill in their logbooks
- Write their reports
2. Adequate Supervision and Care
The schools and departments should ensure to always try to make out time to visit their internship students in their various workplaces to monitor, grade and advise them on the right things to do.
They should also ensure that the students actually benefited from the programme instead of only being interested in signing logbooks and marking reports.
3. Firms/Employers Support
Employers of labour accepting internship students should always ensure that they’re properly monitored, taught and disciplined.
The I.T students shouldn’t be treated as servants all because they came for training.
They should be supported – no matter how small, with money probably daily, weekly or monthly for their transportation and service.
4. Seriousness and Dedication of Students
Internship students should also ensure to:
- Pay, collect, fill and submit their receipts, letters, forms, and logbooks when necessary.
- Be attentive, hardworking, respectful to their lecturers, supervisors, employers, co-workers.
- Handle the equipment’s, instruments, apparatus, documents and properties of the firm with absolute care and concern.
5. Provision of I.T Spaces
The SIWES bodies in the country should try to make adequate provisions and placements for internship students, making the programme educative, efficient, effective and worthwhile.
This is also one of the important steps to be taken to face the challenges during an internship in Nigeria.
How to fill the department section in the logbook and the summary part of the project and remark on project that’s where in have issue
Thanks alot for the Information and guidelines
Thank you for information.
Ọmọ chai I really suffered for one industry here wey dey Akure. They treated us like prisoners not even servants, we the SIWES student were made to work even more than the staff.
Chai I suffered! Anyway na how I go write my SIWES report I find come here.
I don’t really know how it’s, my four month is over,I don’t know what to fill in my logbook
I love this.
Please I want to know, is it acceptable to carry your I.T in an industry not directly related to your field?
No