The Executive Secretary of National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje has reiterated the importance of entrepreneurship development for youths in addressing the nation’s unemployment challenge.
Bugaje, while speaking in Abuja at a workshop on Wednesday, announced that the Board has reviewed the curriculum for polytechnics and other technical institutions across the country.
The Board Executive Secretary emphasised that entrepreneurship plays a critical role in the ability of graduates to either secure jobs or become self-employed.
According to him, “the curriculum for teaching entrepreneurship courses in our institutions was reviewed last year and this year, we are carrying out this workshop on how to deliver these courses.
“Not only that, books are also being developed towards the impartation of this knowledge in our students through the lecturers.
“The future of Nigerian youths is not in paper qualification but the ability to become worthwhile entrepreneurs.
“There are differences between entrepreneurship programmes and skills development programmes. In entrepreneurship, we learn about how to run and start a business while in skills development you acquire a skill, which is very necessary.
“Entrepreneurship is the key to graduates employability so that they can use the skills they acquire to create jobs themselves and employ others rather than become job seekers.”
On his part, the Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Sonny Echono, said entrepreneurship and skills development through the use of individual skill sets, resources and exchange would profit the nation as well as promote employment.
“We want to commend the Committee of Rectors for coming up with the review of the curriculum that focuses on how entrepreneurship should be taught and practiced.
“Initially, our focus has been how we are going to have an enterprise, small business or how to engage in activities that will have additional income.
“Entrepreneurship education goes beyond that; it goes into critical thinking, risk-taking, identification of opportunities using skill sets, resources and creating values that promote employment.
“It is the only way we can address unemployment in our country and grow the sector. So, we have the key to making the country change,’’ he said.
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