In my opinion the educational system in Nigeria needs to be reconstructed to meet capacity challenge and to serve as a buffer. Looking at the whole economy, there is a mismatch between the production of graduates, and indeed the growing number of unemployed and the opportunities available for employment in the economy. It is crucial that we bring the whole process into alignment and synchronization where the number of graduates can best match the available jobs in the market. In process automation, synchronization and timing is key. At the moment, our “Useful” output is low.
My proposal to fixing part of the educational system is to model all professional programmes after the medical education system in Nigeria.
- the government should ensure that all major companies and parastatals have a registered and robust training institution with a professional curriculum jointly design by relevant professional bodies. For instance Julius Berger School of Engineering with curriculum jointly designed by the Nigerian Society of Engineers and COREN
- Students should be made to spend only 3-years in the University studying the basics of their professions (like medical students) after which they would write their pre-qualification examination and entrance examination into any of their professional training institutions e.g Julius Berger School of Engineering. Students can attempt many schools. The training institution will carry out On-The-Job training where the students would be training and working simultaneously for another 3-years. All performance recorded will be forwarded to the student’s respective University. Upon completion of training and assessment by the training institution, a final professional examination would be conducted by the professional body (like medical student’s final exams). Upon successful completion the student will be awarded his/her university certificate endorsed by the University, the training institution and the professional body. So for instance as an engineering graduate, you are already a qualified engineer with field experience from the day of graduation.
Same approach goes for other professional programmes like Mass communication, statistics & mathematics, Chemistry, accountancy, lawyer, etc.
This would allow the market and government the retention time as student would spend more time in school instead of at home (although issues of strikes have to be addressed)
The market will be getting qualified, experienced and exposed workforce.
Attention should be given to professions that have immediate and direct impact on the developmental state of the nation. (indeed many of the courses are and have direct importance in national development. Some courses however need to be de-emphasized or eliminated until we get to our next phase of development. Period)
Resources expended on NYSC, and other post university employment programs would reduce and be better managed.
The graduates will not have to battle to get professional recognition after university except where he/she wishes to advance his/her knowledge in the chosen field.
The bursary and other allowances could be paid to students as stipends during professional training period (companies could at their discretion also augment such stipends). Thus students would have been financially empowered while teaching them the benefit of work. To me it’s a better welfare system than hands down approach.
Ultimately Nigerian will be evolving a model or system that other developing nation can adopt for structured and meaningful educational system.