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Tech-U VC Calls For Education Revamping

TECH-U

..bags Youth Council Award

BY DAYO ADESULU

To arrest the decay in the nation’s education sector, Vice Chancellor of the First Technical University (Tech-U), Ibadan, Professor Ayobami Salami has called on stakeholders in the education industry to unite for the transformation of the sector.

He made this call recently as the Guest Lecturer at the grand finale of the 2019 United Nations International Youths Week organised by the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Oyo State Chapter, in Ibadan during the week.

Chaired by Chief Bisi Ilaka, Chief of Staff to the Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, the event had in attendance youths from across the state, legislators, notable opinion moulders and other critical stakeholders.

“Educational transformation is very dear to me; having been active in providing tertiary education for over thirty years. I have also traversed our educational system as a student, a teacher and as an administrator at various levels.

Asan ardent stakeholder, I can state unequivocally that all hands are required on deck to harness our vast human and capital resources towards achieving educational transformation at local, regional and national levels”, Salami said.

We must revamp infrastructural deficits

Represented by Professor Adesola Ajayi, Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Institution, Salami underscored the urgent need to revamp the subsisting model of education. He said our country is characterised by monumental infrastructural deficit, inadequate funding, irrelevant curricular and inadequate staffing. Others are, warped orientation of learners, dismal student performance, and the resultant dysfunctional system among other sectoral deficiencies.

He said, “The consequences of poor education in Nigeria over the years is evident in extremely high unemployment of educated youths. Others are the gross dependence on foreign technology, and lack of technical expertise for even simple tasks”.

“To fully explore the potentials of our intelligent youth, all stakeholders in the education sector must agree on curriculum . “It must also have delivery strategies that would elicit innovation, cooperation and ingenuity in educational spaces that guarantee practicality.

“We require the Government at various levels to provide infrastructure and funding commensurate to the urgency.”

Our brand of education must deliver development

Salami said: “The government must actualize the tenets of its recently declared State of Emergency in the sector. Our brand of education must deliver development and social progress all over the country.

Salami was  honoured with an Award of Excellence in Education for his contribution to the development of Nigeria education

The award was given by the NYCN through its Chapter leader, Mrs Adebola Agbeja. Salami called for an all-inclusive strategy that would place education in the country on the right pedestal.

“We can no longer ignore the unfortunate statistics showing that Nigeria currently houses over 10 million out-of-school children.

READ ALSO: Tech-U matriculates students, to appoint Professors of Practice

Activitiesof the Universal Basic Education Commission at the national level must be complemented by prompt release of counterpart funds by States”, he said.

He noted that to elicit maximum productivity from students, learning must be technologically-driven, participatory, resourceful and adventurous.

According to him, “there is need for top-notch facilities to support active learning in our educational institutions.

Closely, linked to this, is the cardinal issue of welfare of teachers and all other professionals that make up the school system.

Poor motivated workforce will not produce world class graduates

A poorly motivated workforce is likely not to produce world class graduates.

The only way to attract and retain the brightest brains in the educational system is to remunerate well . And ensure that workspaces are functional and comfortable”.

To address the challenge of funding inadequacy, he suggested an innovative funding model. Such model  should  synthesises contributions from both the government and the private sector.

“We must insist that it is right and necessary that government increase its funding of education in the country. It is also wise that we explore additional funding models.Some measures of creativity is need.

“Our teachers must become effective enablers of the new model of education.  Learner-centeredness, technology, innovation, and social responsiveness must be emphasized.

We must find a way of making learning stimulating, enjoyable and attractive for our students. Children hold the key to the kind of future that awaits us.

All stakeholders must do what’s expected of them for policies to work. We need to put in place well-motivated and thoroughly equipped Quality Assurance Units in our Ministries and institutions. This is to ensure that the education given to our children conforms to the best global practices”.

There employability and skills gap in Nigeria

“Given the employability and skills gap crises in the country, it is pertinent to emphasise the need to recalibrate our educational system.

To reflect mainstream technical, vocational and entrepreneurial education in all stages of education.

Colonial education that only prepared students  for white collar jobs is no longer workable.

The cheese has since moved from the traditional station. Our educational system must be responsive so as to equip our teeming youths for this challenge

“This laudable approach has extensive implications for the pedagogy we currently employ in our educational policy.

We must now emphasise a learner-centred model. Train our young people to ask questions and challenge the axiom and develop learners’ critical thinking capacities. We must create knowledge pools, interactive platforms and involve relevant participants from the larger society”.

Bridge existing gap between ivory towers and industry.

“Equally central to the proposed transformation paradigm, is the urgent need to bridge the yawning divide. The gap that currently exist between our ivory towers and the industry.

There’s no way we can have the kind of quantum leap that we desire without a synergy among these two critical sectors of the society.

Institutions by their nature are a sacred temple of experimentationand knowledge production for development. It must now link up with the public/private sectors to work out ideas founded on sound theoretical frameworks”.

Professor Salami also charged youths of the country not to despair but to work towards birthing a better country. “It’s important to state that this is about the best time to be a youth.

The opportunities around you abound. All you need is the courage to see through the darkness and catch the brightness that await you .

Take responsibility and decide what you want

Take responsibility, and decide what your contribution would be to make the society better. Deploy your unique gifts and talents.

You must realize that in the midst of the gloom of the current challenges lies the opportunity for you to emerge from the rubbles as a significant force in this generation”.

“While I encourage you to take good opportunities and globalise your thinking and training, you must never abandon your cultural heritage.

Thatis your identity and claim to uniqueness in the alluringly competitive global space.

Through deliberate commitment to life-long learning, beyond the limits of the four walls of an academic institution, you owe yourself. You owe your family, our nation, the African continent and indeed, the world at large. Students owe the obligation to develop the requisite intellectual and psychological capacity needed for the transformation of our world”.

“While the educators are preparing world-class platforms for better education, you must come into institutions well prepared.

Read ahead during qualifying exams

You must completely eschew fraud and cheating during qualifying examinations, read ahead and develop genuine passion for the kind of learning that brings national transformation.

Similarly, take time to develop relational skills to properly integrate other ideas, cultures, attitudes and paradigms that are replete in today’s interactive world.

We must get education right in our nation. It is the main opportunity the older generation has to deliberately transmit accumulated knowledge, skills and values to the younger ones.

Wemust evolve a system that adequately prepares our youth for both global relevance and local impact.

We need to promote intense intellectualism in concord with a sense of civic responsibility that embraces collaboration instead of unhealthy competition.

We must also promote honesty, synergy, diligence, innovation, technical expertise, entrepreneurship and deliberately reward excellence.

Icall on all stakeholders to join hands in transforming our educational system.

Itis the surest way to move our society from mediocrity and limitations into enlightenment and sustainable development”.

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