Nigeria’s education curriculum needs rejig — Adeniyi Adams
By Yemi Adeleye
MD, Knightstone Properties limited, Mr. Adeniyi Adams
An Entrepreneur, Mr. Adeniyi Adams, on Wednesday called on the Federal Government to urgently review the education curriculum to reduce unemployment.
Adams made the appeal while delivering a paper, “Unlocking the Economic Potential in Real Estate for Youth Development”, at the Trek Africa Entrepreneurship Conference (TAEC), 2018 in Lagos.
“If we go through what our population is and the percentage of the unemployed, we need to rejig our education curriculum to encourage entrepreneurship.
“In the last quarter of 2017, unemployment rate has risen to about 16.12 per cent that is quite an alarming figure.
“There is a need for us to change our educational system. We need to start producing graduates that will shift attention from white collar jobs,” he said.
According to him, there is a major problem with the education curriculum, as it is not guiding towards entrepreneurial skill.
“If we keep doing same things same way, the result will be the same.
“We definitely need to rejig our education curriculum in terms of taking entrepreneurial studies from secondary schools.
“We need to train and reshape minds of students to ensure that after schools they don’t start thinking of paid employment which is not there again,” he said.
Adams, the Managing Director, Knightstone Property Limited, said the economic situation in the last one decade had not favored entrepreneurship because of concentration on monolithic economy.
According to him, the development made several companies to fold up, leading to mass sack of many workers.
The entrepreneur, who added that some graduates are also not employable, said there are lots of opportunities in the real estate sector.
“Aside ICT, the real estate also has high employment opportunities and profitability.
“The value chain in the real estate is very large that the youths can actually take advantage of it,” he said.
He urged the youth to look at the value chain in real estate and make the best out of the many opportunities.
Similarly, Chief Lanre Rasak, a businessman and Chairman of the occasion called on the government to integrate entrepreneurial course into the university curriculum to help graduates after graduation.
“With this, employment won’t be an issue. Government should embrace entrepreneurial as the best option to diversification of the economy.
“Government must provide enabling environment because a lot of people don’t have jobs,” Rasak, the Chairman/ Chief Executive KLM Group of Companies said.
The businessman, also a former Commissioner for Public Transportation, Lagos, lauded Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode for his commitment in tackling unemployment through various programmes.
Rasak, the Balogun of EpeLand, noted that the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund had promoted small and medium scale entrepreneurship.
He urged other state governments to follow suit.
Earlier, Mr Samson Oki, the convener, who noted that the event was the third edition, said TAEC focused its energy on encouraging entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity.
Oki said: “It is a fact that various economic indices like inflation and unemployment rates are pointing negative, but we cannot fold our arms and let the situation be.
“Yet, it is unrealistic to expect the government to provide jobs for every single youth in the country, thus, youths should prioritize self-development and learn skills that can take them out of poverty.” (NAN)
