Bank boss advocates overhaul of Nigeria’s education system

Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, has restated the need for Nigerian universities to be solution-centred, advocating overhaul of the education system to meet modern realities.

Awosika said this yesterday while delivering the third convocation lecture of Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, entitled ‘The Nigerian University System and the Challenge of Internationalisation’.She lamented that most universities were producing graduates with degrees irrelevant to the realities of their society, describing it as a waste of time and resources.

Her words: “Institutions must build leaders that are committed to making things work, not selfish leaders, those that will affect the lives of others. Our education system must build people to solve our nation’s problems.

“Everyday is a changing world. We need to change how we teach. As a people, if we don’t take care of this generation, we are in trouble. We need to think of how to turn the universities we have to be solution-centred, not certificate-centred.”

She urged Nigerian universities to move away from mediocrity, master-servant/student-lecturer relationship to embrace openness of mind, stressing that “a university that is not providing solutions is not providing anything.”

The guest lecturer canvassed the restructuring of the education system, enjoining the students to toe the path of self-discovery by identifying themselves, their mission and their vision. Awosika tasked the students on purposeful living and implored them not to hinge living on money-making.

Chairman of the occasion, Rauf Aregbesola, urged the students to be focused, develop the right mindset and be prepared to solve the nation’s problems. The former Osun State governor, who was represented by his former deputy, Mrs. Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, lauded the founder of the university, Chief Segun Ojo, for offering a reliable alternative solution to the rot in the education sector. Prof. Olukayode Amund, who was inaugurated as the third substantial vice chancellor of the institution, expressed his commitment to quality education and leadership skills that would bear positively on national development.