Gabriel Dike and Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Every academic session, Nigeria’s tertiary institutions turn out thousands of graduates. In the last five months, universities, polytechnics and colleges of education have released into the labour market over 200,000 graduates and more will do so before the end of the year.
But the multimillion naira question is how many of these academic products released with fanfare during every convocation ceremony will get job or be self-employed? What is the value of their skill set? Do they have any at all?
In deed, not a few believe there is a giant gap in the nation’s curricular, so much so that it is unsuitable for the contemporary age.
Mr. Olufemi Johnson, who runs a printing firm in Garki 7 shopping centre, otherwise known as UTC, Abuja, has never hidden his anger about the quality of the nation’s graduates. He recalled a case of a youth corper that came to his office for an opportunity to work.
“I engaged him in a conversation to assess his knowledge of basic things. But I was deeply disappointed in him. He couldn’t answer questions about certain things that my five-year-old boy will confidently answer. Some basic knowledge I expect him to have for relevance in the 21st century technology driven world was absent.”
Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, while acknowledging the critical place of higher education in the development of nations, lamented the backwardness of Nigeria higher institutions in the international rankings.
He noted with regret that out of the 43 federal and 48 state universities and 79 privately-owned ones in Nigeria, only the University of Ibadan and Covenant University, Ogun State, made the list of the world’s top 1,000 universities in the latest annual Times Higher Education survey, which is the most respected and influential of such studies across the globe.
Mr. Olawumi Gasper, engineer and former Rector of Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) shares the opinion that in the present era and economy, in which Knowledge and Skills, Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (KITE) is the operational currency, Nigeria is way off the mark.
“It is noteworthy that the 21st century education is innovation education. Currently, we have basic, secondary/technical and tertiary education, with Innovation Education being the latest.
“Our curricula must be strengthened with the inclusion of software development and mobile applications education for future technology. It is non-negotiable that we must empower our students for the technology opportunities of tomorrow and prepare them for the future economy. We must realise that mobile App development will drive business growth in local industries. Software development teaching and practicals must therefore be strengthened in mechatronics, medical technology, automation, electronics, controls, robotics and automotive technology and finance.
“FinTechs solutions and technologies are in use by most financial institutions to improve and develop their services, provide digital services to the unbanked at the bottom of the pyramid. The volume of transaction recorded last year by FinTechs was about N1.2 trillion. We cannot ignore this upcoming industry, with its presence in both urban and rural areas. The need therefore to strengthen the curriculum in Financial and Business Studies with solid foundation in software development (modules in scripting in python, introduction to blockchain, cyber security and data protection). The software modules should comprise development of apps for mobile devices in these fields,” Gasper said.
“Our students should continuously be challenged to search for the field and applications that are most appealing to them, with the final content of the application developed defined by the lecturer and industry mentor,” he added.
Expressing concern on the products of tertiary institutions, the proprietor of Royal Academy, Ibadan, Chief Laide Oluwaseun, said in the last 15 years, employers of labour and some stakeholders have constantly complained about the quality of graduates churned out with little or no entrepreneur skills impacted on them by the institutions.
Chief Oluwaseun, who questioned the use of outdated curriculum and the lack of innovation to equip said government must, as matter of urgency, convoke a curriculum review summit that must include critical stakeholders such as experts in curriculum review, representatives of companies, lecturers, NERDC, NUC, NBTE, NCCE, PTA, staff unions representatives and NGOs to give the nation a 21st curriculum that will equip our students and make them think out of the box,” he noted.
Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) University of Ibadan branch, Dr. Deji Omole, explained that curriculum review is not about politics, but critical analysis and appraisal of the present contents and the need for modifications if necessary to meet the present and future challenges.
“What the country need is not just a political statement about curriculum but rather development plan and the curriculum can then be developed along that line. Universities can then be challenged to pursue the developmental goals by providing adequate fund for research and training. Curriculum review without a clearly defined national developmental goals and adequate funding is just playing politics with education and it will only amount to waste of time and resources,” he said.
One of the nation’s curriculum experts, J. O. Sofolahan, in his review of the National Policy on Education (NPE) acknowledged that there were several attempts at making the curriculum relevant to the economy and it culminated in the National Curriculum Conference of 1969.
Sofolahan revealed that the Federal Government set up a committee in 1973 to study the recommendations of that conference and that government’s view on the report of the committee were published in 1977 in a White Paper entitled “National Policy on Education.”
He said with specific regard to university education and the need for all-round development, the policy provided that students “be made to take a course in history of ideas and the philosophy of knowledge or some suitable course as may be determined.”
Some measures were recommended to ensure the actualisation of the NPE as it relates to tertiary education and these include, devoting a greater proportion of educational expenditure to science and technology and fixing the university student enrolment ratio of science to liberal arts at 60: 40, and of technology to other courses at the polytechnic at 70:30, he said.
Former Executive Secretary of Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Prof U.M.O. Ivowi observed that the content of education in Nigeria has only undergone few changes in the past. He noted also that at all levels of education, science and technology education is emphasised in order to equip students to live effectively in the modern age of science and technology.
Prof Ivowi explained that the well articulated curriculum contents in science and technology have not enjoyed the same level of confidence in implementation as in the curriculum design, adding “implementation has been beset by many problems. Yet the low level of achievement in science and technology remains a more perturbing aspect of the issue.”
However, Chancellor, Gregory University, Uturu, Abia State, Dr. Gregory Ibeh, said there was no urgent need to overhaul Nigeria tertiary education curriculum. He insisted that the curriculum is of global standard, and only requires periodic review, in terms of addition or subtraction of few items.
Dr. Ibeh said he has had the opportunity to present the curriculum being used in Nigerian schools to his affiliate universities in United States, Canada and other countries with high record of academic excellence for critique and analysis, and none of the institutions faulted the curriculum.
He said the “pass mark” was indication that people that developed the curriculum did good work. Howbeit, he suggested that curriculum review should be a continuous exercise, noting that good academic curriculum should be open to addition of fresh ideas and subtraction of obsolete items.
He added: “As new inventions and discoveries are made especially in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), it is expected to be reflected in the curriculum being used in school. That is why the National Council on Education (NCE), which is the highest decision making body in Nigeria education system meet annually to take decisions on education system in Nigeria.
He said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the new knowledge that needs to be acquired by everyone for 21st century relevance. Institutions are required to support any meaningful step that would make the knowledge available to students.
“In as much as individual institutions are at liberty to make relevant and necessary additions to their curriculum, the consent and approval of the National Universities Commission (NUC), and other relevant agencies is required for recognition.
“For instance, I recently procured 3D printer for use in Gregory University, Uturu, Abia State. It helps in the study of robotics. It is a global practice that institutions procure what they need to provide quality education and skills for their students,” he said.
President, Curriculum Organisation of Nigeria, Prof. Sunday Agwu, in his submission supported the call for review of the curriculum of tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
His reasons are that most of the content of what is being taught have become obsolete and no more in line with current educational realities.
“We spend a lot of time on theories rather than on their applicability. This is why most of our graduates come out with a lot of theoretical knowledge without ability of how to apply the theories to solve societal problems,” he said.
Agwu, who is the Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, however, suggested that the review should focus on science, technology and mathematics.
“Technology rules the world and one can only advance in technology with a proper and sound base in the sciences and mathematics.”
He also suggested that emphasis should also be placed on Peace, Conflict Resolution and Strategic Studies, because the high level of discontentment and frustration in the world especially among the youths, demands that the current curriculum should bring in aspects of peaceful co-existence.
Prof. Agwu is optimistic that if tertiary institutions’ curriculum is properly reviewed with emphasis on practical knowledge, graduates of tertiary institutions would become better prepared to compete in the global labour market. They would be able to locally produce most of the things we now import and save more foreign exchange for Nigeria. They would also become better employed and this will lead to a reduction in the level of terrorism and other criminal activities
The don said a situation where the annual budget for education, as we now have, is less than 10 percent cannot bring about any positive revolution in the education sector.
Not left out of the call for the review of tertiary institutions curriculum, is the Manufacturer Association of Nigeria (MAN), whose members been have complaining about the quality of graduates produced by the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
A senior management staff of MAN told The Education Report that currently members of MAN retrain graduates because of the observed skill gap in the curriculum and pleaded with government to involve them in any review of tertiary institutions curriculum for their inputs.
He confirmed that unlike in Asia and Western World, industries in Nigeria have not really embraced it because of cost.