Educationist Calls for Collaboration Between Schools & Business Community :
The Chairman of the Lagos City Polytechnic, Ikeja, Babatunde Odufuwa, has called for a closer relationship between tertiary institutions and managers of the nation’s economy.
The collaboration, Odufuwa said, was necessary in order to bridge the gap between products of the tertiary institutions and the skills requirement of the nation.
He stated this during the polytechnic’s eighth convocation last Friday. No fewer than 807 students passed out from the school on the occasion.
According to Odufuwa, a closer interaction between schools and mangers of the economy will assist Nigerian graduates in acquiring essential skills that will help them and the nation alike.
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He said, “It is now a common practice in most, if not all, universities and colleges to include Entrepreneurship Study, Information Technology and other related subjects in the curriculum so that there is a link between the private sector and the economy which these institutions serve.
“It is also important to mention that the curriculum in various countries of the world are made to reflect not only the need of each country but also the requirements of global economy through e-learning, e-commerce, among others as reflected in the ICT development by Internet, which has reduced the world to a global village.
“In Nigeria, we need more skills than certificates. There is, in fact, a growing disconnect between the products of our tertiary institutions and skills requirements of the economy. This underscores the need for a closer interaction between our institutions and the operators in the economy.”
Odufuwa also stressed the need for better training for semi-skilled persons and entrepreneurs, using modern techniques and knowledge.
According to him, entrepreneurs, for instance, are not only drivers of the economy but also creators of wealth.
He added, “An economy can only be robust as its entrepreneurs. Therefore, if we must make progress in this economy, our private sector would have to play a major role.”
Advising the graduands to be more resourceful, Odufuwa noted that the school had provided them with the foundation to succeed in life.
He said, “You have been empowered with qualitative education to achieve the best. It is now up to you to face up the challenges. It is up to you to see roadblocks as stepping stones, to see problems as opportunities to be stronger and see the sky not as your limit but as your staring point in to the entire universe.” (Punch)
