Scholar urges review of university education to meet global trends

Seasoned scholar, Prof Toyin Falola has called on authorities of the nation’s universities to develop a curriculum that would take the country out of the mantras of ‘poverty reduction’ to that of  ‘wealth creation’ to make the sector globally relevant and competitive

Falola, who teaches Humanities at the University of Texas, Austin, United States, said there must be a holistic review of the nation’s university education in conformity with current trends.

Falola while delivering the third Humanities lecture of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete believed that the current curricula were designed not to empower the people but to serve the economic benefits of the colonising nations. 

“The colonial African education system was created to pacify the people and spread Christianity. To increase individual involvement with education, community, and political support, educational institutions must include policies and content that are more applicable to the community.”

The lecturer, who holds Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the institution said universities across the world now concentrate on building robust policies encapsulated under a coinage tagged; ‘Fourth industrial revolution.’He therefore urged the management, staff and students of KWASU to pioneer the revolution that would fast track the paradigm shift from colonial curricula to ‘fourth industrial revolution global economy.’ 

While reminding that internal thinking has shifted as well, the erudite scholar said syllabuses must be designed to conform to our socio, political and economic relevance. Essentially, he emphasised that Nigerian universities must conform to the fourth revolution thing or be phased out of relevance.

Speaking on breakthroughs in the area of robotic revolution where robots have successfully replaced human labours in areas such as driving of vehicles and radiography through artificial intelligence, Falola warned of imminent massive loss of job opportunities and canvassed the setting up of committees to come up with relevant curriculum for Nigerian universities.

Proposing more funding of the nation’s university education, Falola said the development would accommodate more academic modules and afford more candidates assess into new and modern studies and disciplines.Vice chancellor, Prof AbdulRasheed Na’Allah said the university is tailored towards producing graduates who rather than seeking employment opportunities would be employers of labour.