The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI),yesterday, asked the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education(NBTE) and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) to review the curriculum for entrepreneurship courses in order to address unemployment of graduates.
Its Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive, Prof. Mohammad Haruna made the plea at the groundbreaking of the permanent site of NASENI Skill Acquisition Centre in Gwantu Kurmi in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State by the state’s Deputy Governor, Hadiza Balarabe.
He said some of the graduates were jobless because of misalignment between products of tertiary institutions and limited job market.
He said the ongoing building of skill acquisition centres nationwide was aimed at tackling youth unemployment and industrial development.
“May I use using this opportunity to reiterate and call on the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) to overhaul the curriculum used in teaching entrepreneurship courses. Most tertiary institutions in Nigeria have no qualified lecturers and enabling environment to teach entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is a practical course taught only by practicing entrepreneurs. Experts in management sciences and marketing with no training in entrepreneurship are not qualified to teach entrepreneurship courses. NASENI Skill development centres across the nations will collaborate with willing tertiary institutions in their catchment areas to bridge this gap.
“There is clear misalignment between graduates of our tertiary institutions and the limited job market. In addition, a lot of youth have no formal education constituting a threat to the future of our dear nation. For peace to prevail in any society, the citizens, particularly the youths, must be meaningfully engaged and gainfully employed through capacity building for the generation of job opportunities.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of Skill Development Centres and Institutions of NASENI across the nation to address youth unemployment create chains of businesses and industrial development for economic prosperity.”
SUN NEWS
