A former governor of Osun State and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Adebisi Akande, has called for holistic migration from traditional ways of doing things in the country’s educational institutions.
The APC chieftain also advised universities to avoid producing graduates that cannot add value to the economy.
Akande said such was necessary to avert the risk of being left behind in global competitiveness.
A statement made available in the state capital on Tuesday by the Head, Directorate of Information, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Bode Olofinmuagun, stated that the APC chieftain spoke at his Ila-Orangun, Osun State residence while receiving the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Babatola Ayodele, and other principal officers.
Akande said, “If you want global competition, you can’t wait. Universities should avoid producing graduates that cannot add value to the economy.
“Award of degrees without relevant skills required for national growth and economic development should be discouraged in the Nigerian educational curriculum. Going to school is not work, but the beginning of learning how to work.”
The former governor and an EKSU alumnus, who appreciated the management team’s visit, hailed the development in the institution, as he described its recent ranking as the best state university in Nigeria by Times Higher Education as a “product of knowledgeable leadership.”
EKSU VC, Ayodele, said that the visit was in appreciation of the elder statesman whose experience and fatherly advice were needed by the university for more progress.
The VC thanked the former governor for his hospitality going by the warm reception accorded the delegation from the university.
He, however, took pride in EKSU‘s rounded and qualitative education, saying, “No student graduates from the university without acquiring relevant skills in one vocation or the other, such that would be enough to prepare such student for profitable engagements after graduating from the university instead of hunting for white collar job.”
The PUNCH
