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FG set to bridge skills gap in educational system

By Mohammed Abubakar (Abuja), From Emmanuel Ande (Yola) and Danjuma Michael (Katsina)
26 April 2017   |   4:12 am
Prof. Bolanle Oni of the Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, who presented a paper at the workshop, identified the causes of skills gap to include poor quality teaching, obsolete equipment input and students’ teachers’ ratio.

Education Minister, Malam Adamu Adamu

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The Federal Ministry of Education has announced plans to bridge the widening gap between the quality of graduates and the actual needs of industries. This was disclosed at a workshop by the Director of Technology and Science Education in the ministry Mr. Joel Ojo.

He was represented by the Deputy Director, Vocational Education, Mr. Emmanuel Ocheja. The workshop was held to discuss the skills gap in the country’s educational system and the development of a training plan for teachers and laboratory technicians.

Ojo said the ministry was worried about the inability of many graduates to fit into work places due to the lack of necessary skills to perform on the job. He said there was a growing mismatch between what was offered in institutions of learning and the labour market, which was yet to be addressed.

Ojo also identified teachers’ inadequate capacity building as a major factor for the declining quality of education in the
country.

He explained that the workshop would identify sources of funding and develop a national plan for the continuous professional development of teachers and laboratory technicians.

Prof. Bolanle Oni of the Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, who presented a paper at the workshop, identified the causes of skills gap to include poor quality teaching, obsolete equipment input and students’ teachers’ ratio.

Other speakers supported that students often graduate with a deficiency in critical areas as communication, technical competence and analytical skills for problems solving.

The Deputy Director in charge of Science Education, Mrs. Grace Takerhi, the Registrar of Teachers Registration Council, (TRCN), Prof. Josiah Ajiboye and Assistant Director of Engineering, Federal Ministry of Industries, John Aboje also attended the workshop.

Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MUATECH), Yola, Prof. Kyari Mohammed, has said that limiting universities to some courses will affect the essence of university education and the country’s economic growth.

He made the disclosure yesterday in Yola at the first International Conference on Business, Economic, Accounting and Technology (ICBEAT) organised by the School of Management and Information Technology.

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