The practice of taking a gap year after high school is gaining more grounds. This has both benefits and drawbacks as we shall see.
Post-secondary school pause of a year before proceeding to the university can help students re-strategize for a completely new adventure in the terrains of higher institutions. This will help them pick among the many dream courses available to them at the university and enable them to figure out which one tallies with their long-term ambitions. Likewise, the gap year can help students lay their hands on some part-time jobs, the earnings from which can come in handy for their tuition. For example, more than three-quarters of Nigerian university students are reported to have paid their school fees with wages from one odd job or the other. This lent further credence to the merits of a year off after school before proceeding to higher institutions.
However, taking a break of a year after school may be associated with some shortcomings. Academic performances may nosedive, probably from one distraction or another. The gap may allow short term memory to be eroded and knowledge of key subjects may be swept away during that interval. Not only that, some students drop out of school, albeit unintentionally, permanently. Young minds are easily enticed by money and once they generate a tangible amount during this break, their thoughts may become blurred and some may decide to discontinue their education. For example, the Nigeria Universal Basic Education annual report of 2020 showed that more than half of dropouts from school were experienced during the twelve months post-secondary school break.
In conclusion, though a year off after secondary school is becoming more and more fashionable probably due to some merits like being financially rewarding helping students to refocus, it is not without some demerits. These include increased risk of students dropping out of school and poor school performances.