By Taiye Odewale Abuja
President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, yesterday called on policy makers in the education sector to come up with education curriculum that would meet the demands of employers from both public and private sectors. Saraki, who advocated this against the backdrop of large army of unemployable University graduates in the labour market said there was the need for the country to urgently reposition its educational system to refl ect current domestic and global realities like rising unemployment and the need to strengthen the economy to make the nation more competitive internationally, He said: “Many university graduates from Nigeria are currently not being equipped with the appropriate skills that they need to perform in employed capacities.
Th is situation requires the urgent intervention of all stakeholders in the education sector. “What we have on our hands is an infl ux 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.”
He 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 in moving forward. It is clear that these two skills constitute the foundation of all other subject areas.” He disclosed that at the resumption in September, the Senate “will mobilise its relevant committees to work with education stakeholders to develop clear-cut strategies on how to move Nigeria’s education 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 fi x it.”
