I think students should not be required to take an extracurricular activity for multiple reasons. My reasons are that teachers assign too much homework, it's not "extra"-curricular if it's required, and students shouldn't be required to stay at school after dismissal.

First, teachers assign too much homework. Often I have to work all the way from when I get home to dinner, and then from after dinner to bedtime, just to finish all the homework that teachers give me. If I had to do after-school stuff on top of that, every day, I would never have time to finish anything, let alone do anything fun.

Next, it's not "extra"-curricular if it's required. The term "extracurricular" literally means "beyond the curriculum". If students are required to do extracurricular activities, then the activities become part of the curriculum, and are therefore no longer "extra"-curricular.

Finally, students shouldn't be required to stay at school after dismissal. If students just want to go home after the end of a long day, they shouldn't be required to stay after school if they haven't done anything wrong. If students are required to stay after school, then either detention isn't punishment, or extracurricular activites are punishment.

Therefore, I think students should not be required to take an extracurricular activity after school because teachers assign too much homework, it's not "extra"-curricular if it's required, and students shouldn't be required to stay at school after dismissal.