‘Practical-based curricula panacea to educational challenges in Nigeria’
Going by the strategic importance of practical education globally, industry watchers have underscored its relevance to the overall growth of the nation’s productive population.
In this regard, they readily insist that the role that such aspect of education play in moulding the future of youth, especially as it pertains to innovation and global best practices cannot be over-emphasised.
Benjamin Olayinka Akande, President WestMinister College, USA and Professor of Economics and Dean, George Herbert Walker School of Business and Technology, Webster University, United States, has called on policy makers and education managers to see to the formulation of practical-based curricula.
Akande emphased the need for citadel of higher learning in Nigeria to focus more on application of knowledge and less on theory adding that the nations curriculum should be adjusted to reflect this.
He insists that the current mode of delivery of education in the country is incapable of taking the nation to its expected destination. According to him, “The Nigerian educator sector is strong because it prepares people to succeed in a very difficult situation. What we need to do is improve in it and focus on application and less on theory.’’
Akande while speaking at Webster University (Ghana Campus) breakfast meeting in Lagos said Nigerians need the kind of education offered at Webster, as it is the type that prepares people to succeed in very difficult or challenging situations.
According to him, Webster University is an American university founded in 1915 with a mission to “transform students for global citizenship and personal excellence. The Ghana campus officially commenced academic activities in 2013 to deliver high-quality American-style education in a personalised setting.”
He further noted that Nigeria as a country have very intelligent and industrious individuals stressing that what is required to make them excel is the kind of education process that deals with knowledge application.
The university don called on the Muhammadu Buhari lead administration to focus on dealing with this particular issue. Right now, the education system in Nigeria is broken down and not moving at the speed it should. What we hear from employers of labour is that when they hire Nigerian graduates, they know the theories, but they don’t know how to apply it. And so the key thing missing in our education process is how to create a kind of curriculum where theory, though very important, could be linked to application and real life situations. That is where I think education needs to go.
In his words, “To fix this, we need resources, commitment by institutions of higher learning to make the adjustment in real time and reconsider what is important to us as a nation, so as to know where to commit our resources” he said
While commenting on the reason that no international schools are situated in Nigeria, the professor observed that the process of establishing school in Nigeria is a steep hill to climb.
“They don’t make it easy for established US organisations to come to this country. May be the established universities do not need competitions, however, there should be some considerations”
“If Nigeria is going to be relevant, we have to allow other institutions to come in and share their knowledge. What international schools bring to the country when they are allowed to establish is intellectual property of over hundred years experience in education” he added.
Earlier on her part, Christa Sanders, director of Webster, Accra, Ghana, said that numerous opportunities were available to prospective students from Nigeria and the sub-region, who desire to study at the institution.
Sanders reveal that Webster Ghana runs undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Management, International Relations, Media Communications and Business Administration.
To her “A distinguishing feature of Webster education that sets it apart from other universities is its global citizenship programme that focuses on developing the skills and abilities of its students to nurture them into becoming global citizens”.
Kelechi Ewuzie