President of
the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday stated that Nigeria’s
university curriculum and teaching methods must be up-scaled to reflect
the
demands of employers from both the public and the private sectors.
Speaking on
the need for the country to urgently reposition its educational system to
reflect current domestic and global realities like rising unemployment and the
need to strengthen the economy to make the nation more competitive
internationally, Saraki emphasized that many university graduates from Nigeria,
are currently not being equipped with the appropriate skills that they need to
perform in employed capacities. “This situation requires the urgent
intervention of all stakeholders in the education sector,” the President of the
Senate said in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity,
Yusuph Olaniyonu, in Abuja.
“What we have on our hands is an influx into the
workforce of many graduates who are unable to meet the demands of both the
public and the private sectors. “In order to reduce the incidence of
unemployment and make our country more competitive going into the future, we
must immediately work to ensure the careful and constant realignment of what
our young people are learning in the classrooms, with what the employers expect
from them at the workplace.”
The President of the Senate also cited a need for
a deliberate approach to boost reading, writing and comprehension, starting at
the primary school level, as both skills are necessary in all sectors. “Both
reading and writing must take front and centre-stage in all that we do moving
forward. It is clear that these two skills constitute the foundation of all
other subject areas.
“This is why even before they get to university, we must
ensure that our children know how to write — because this inability to convey
their thoughts clearly on paper has become the bane of many young and otherwise
bright Nigerians that are seeking employment, both within and outside the
country,” Saraki said.
The President of the Senate stated that at the
resumption in September, the Senate will mobilize its relevant committees to
work with education stakeholders to develop clear-cut strategies on how to move
Nigeria’s educational system forward.
“At this point, we can no longer sit by
and watch our educational system slide below acceptable standard. Education is
the bedrock of all development, and right now, our bedrock is faulty, so we
must fix it,” Saraki said.
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