The President Muhamamdu Buhar-led Federal Government is considering a
major policy change to its tertiary education that would see graduates
go for an extra year of studies.
While speaking on Tuesday at a two-day retreat
for governing councils of federal universities in Abuja, the Minister of
State for Education, Anthony Anwukah, disclosed that Nigeria is
considering a major policy change to its tertiary education that would
see graduates go for an extra year of studies.
The retreat, held
under the theme ‘Elements of Statutory Governance, Procurement and
Financial Accounting in Nigerian Universities,’ is to address the
challenges of the education sector.
Anwukah said this was being
considered because many university graduates were not good enough to be
employed by industries, adding that the proposal was similar to the
extra year currently being undertaken by law and medical students.
He
said; “Law students attend Law School for one year before going for
NYSC and medical students go for one year Housemanship before they are
allowed to practice fully, so it will be necessary for other courses to
also go through this process. The Lagos Business School can also serve
as a one year after-school training.”
Anwukah said the
university system has let Nigeria down in the country’s quest for
industrial development. He said the universities have failed to produce
graduates that meet the needs of the industries.
“The
universities are producing products that are not matching the needs of
the industries. I urged the Committee of Pro-chancellors and Committee
of Vice-Chancellor to end the decline in the standard of education,” he
said.
PT reports that he lamented that the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) system has failed in the universities.
SIWES,
established in 1974 by the Nigerian government, is a programme of the
Industrial Training Fund (ITF). It is designed to give Nigerian students
studying occupationally –related courses in higher institutions the
experience that would supplement their theoretical learning.
But according to the minister, “the project is not working” and remains a major problem for the university system.
