INTRODUCTION

According to John Dewey (1859-1952), education should focus on the whole child and emphasize the childs adaptation to the environment. John Dewey reasoned that children should not be just narrowly educated in academic topic but should learn how to think and adapt to a world outside school.

According to a University of Illinois professor who studies the sociology of education, high school sophomores who were rated by their teachers as having good social skills and work habits, and who participated in extracurricular activities in high school, made more money and completed higher levels of education 10 years later than their classmates who had similar standardized test scores but were less socially adroit and participated in fewer extracurricular activities.

Christy Lleras, a professor of human and community development, says that soft skills such as sociability, punctuality, conscientiousness and an ability to get along well with others, along with participation in extracurricular activities, are better predictors of earnings and higher educational achievement later in life than having good grades and high standardized test scores. Lleras also said that, With the generational shift from a manufacturing-based economy to a service- and information-based one, employers value workers who can not only boast about their GPAs and SAT scores, but are also able to get along well with the public and co-workers.

Soft skills refer to the cluster of personality traits, social graces, facility with language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that mark people to varying degrees. Soft skills complement hard skills, which are the technical requirements of a job. Ministry of Higher Education has introduced soft skills which consist of seven elements (influencing communication, team management, delegating, appraising, presenting and motivating).

There are numerous reasons for having a critical look at a persons soft skills:
Todays job-market, which in many elds is becoming ever increasingly

competitive. To be successful in this tough environment, candidates for jobs have to bring along a competitive edge that distinguishes them from other candidates with similar qualications and comparable evaluation results.

 Employers prefer to take in job candidates who will be productive from a very

early stage on. During the job interview itself good communication skills are invaluable.
The success story of people who know how to master soft skills continues

because of much better career opportunities. Simple fact, which can be veried in daily business life, is that employers prefer to promote staff members with superior soft skills. Good hard skills alone are not necessarily enough anymore to be a rst choice when it comes to promotion. Shaping human beings personality. Any educators dream is that graduates, especially from tertiary education institutions, should not only be experts in a certain eld but matured personalities with a well balanced, rounded off education.

Extracurricular activities are those sponsored by and usually held at school but that are not part of the academic curriculum. They often involve some time commitment outside of the regular curriculum of a school or college. This is the educational activities not falling within the scope of the regular curriculum. Extracurricular activities are the activities of educating or instructing that convey knowledge or skill.

Here are some benefits of extracurricular activities:

Students get to explore their physical, creative, social, political, and career

interests with like-minded people. They will find friends or may bring them in contact with people they didn't know who share their interests and curiosity. Lots of youth programs bring people together with those who are different as a way to break down the barriers between people.
It looks good on college and job applications and shows admissions officers and

employers that students are well-rounded and responsible. Specific activities help with specific goals, talent in athletics or the arts or leadership.
It presents an opportunity to practice social skills and to experiment in activities

that may represent a career interest. For a child who is not gifted academically, the opportunity to excel in the arts or sports may make a big difference in his or her self-esteem.

 It gives students something better to do than staring at the wall, wandering the

hall, or napping all afternoon. People who are involved and engaged are less likely to become addicted to bad habits, like smoking or drinking. Through the diverse activities, students can have fun, build a resume for college, increase creativity, improve organizational skills, learn time management, and develop people skills.