The governor , of Borno State, Governor Babagana Zulum, has called for a comprehensive review of the country’s education system to balance the gal between educational institutions and the needs of industries.
Governor Zulum made known while receiving the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, who visited him at the Government House, Maiduguri the Borno state capital.
In a statement made available to newsmen by Zulum’s spokesman, Dauda Iliya, on Saturday, the governor expressed concern that many graduates produced by higher institutions lack the necessary skills to drive innovation and technological advancement.He charged the NELFUND to critically assess the issue and implement solutions that would enable graduates to become self-employed rather than depend on limited job opportunities.
“We have two major problems in our educational system: the mismatch between educational institutions and industries, as they do not communicate effectively, and the mismatch between the labour market and graduates, many of whom are unprepared to work in the industries,” Zulum said. Zulum further urged NELFUND to support entrepreneurship, technical education, and vocational training programmes.
“Beyond offering loans, I urge you to explore ways to support entrepreneurship education and promote technical and vocational training to reduce the reluctance toward these critical areas of study,” he added. Earlier speaking, Sawyerr said the fund’s mission was to tackle the growing issue of students dropping out of school due to financial constraints. He noted that the loan is interest-free, with repayment set at 10 per cent of the recipient’s income upon securing employment.
