In order to further check the recent economic downturn and unemployment in the country, President Muhammadu Buhari Saturday called on Universities and other institutions of higher learning to re-focus their orientation towards an entrepreneurial-driven curriculum.
This, according to him, is with a view to creating jobs and also improve the capacity to train personnel which he said are needed to drive the government economic policies.
Buhari who stated this at the 41st Convocation Ceremony of the University of Benin in Edo state, noted that “As part of the efforts of this administration to address the burning issues of check the issue of youths unemployment in the country, our universities should to become more entrepreneurial in outlook while curriculum development should be industry driven with conscious efforts made to involve the industry. In the exercise it has been identified the university has the capacity to train the needed personnel to drive the various economic initiatives of the government.”
Represented by the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Onwuka, the President said though the ambition of the federal government remained the provision of qualitative education especially tertiary education for the nation’s teeming youths, this however requires the support of all stakeholders.
“If there is one thing Nigerians agree on, it is the fact that our educational system is undervalued; permit me to say at this point and very sadly too that the current standard of education in Nigeria has unfortunately succeeded in creating three classes of Nigerians; a minority that is well educated, a majority that is either mis-educated or poorly educated and those without education at all. This is not healthy for our country and concerted efforts should be made to reverse the trend”, the president pointed out According to him, “In a knowledge-driven 21st Century education is clearly the key driver of the socio-economic development and as we all know, the university is a major vehicle for the much deserved change in our society and in doing this, it must be responsive for the needs of its immediate environment.
“If Nigerian projection to be among the emerging economies after the BRICED countries Brazil, Russia, India and China, the university should take the centre stage, they should seek to be more entrepreneurial in outlook, each university is expected to identify its area of strength and lean on the support of experts within and outside this world to market those strong points.
“On the part of the federal government, I want to assure you of our determination to work assiduously within the limits of available resources to attain the desired change in the education sector and in doing this, government is not unmindful of the supporting roles of other stakeholders in the sector.
On the challenging security situation, Buhari said “it was as a result of activities of some misguided elements and groups, and what is worrisome is that our universities and our institutions of learning are not left out of this trend. Federal government note with dismay the incidences of bomb blasts and other related acts of terrorism in our institutions of learning and pledges its determination to put a final stop to this ugly trend as no responsible government will fold its arms and allow a system it took federal years to build to give over and allow it blown away overnight to the unwholesomeness activities of some elements in our midst.
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase and Prof. Osato Giwa-Osagie, renowned Consultant gynaecologist bagged Honourary Degrees at the well attended occasion, while a total of 11,020 students bagged different degrees.
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