By Kehinde Oluwatayo
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For Nigeria to develop and overcome youth unemployment, it must give priority to technical education and stop placing too much emphasis on certificates.
This was the submission of the state Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, ASUSS, Comrade Tajudeen Balogun in an interview with The Hope.
Balogun who stressed that the country needs sound education and skills to grow its economy, added that neglect of one will amount to underdevelopment.
He emphasized the need to integrate technology in education at all levels, adding that all students are not talented same way.
“Students should be taught different skills in addition to pure academics. They are not talented the same way, so those who are not very brilliant can do well in trades. Government should recognize their own carrier progression too and not terminating them at a point.
“When we were in primary school, we were doing crafts, we were taught how to weave baskets, how many students can weave basket now. What you see today are plastic baskets.
“Even in secondary schools, there were technical workshops. That was the era of 6-3-3-4. It crashed because government did not have the political will to fund it. But it has to be re-engineered.
While emphasising the need to put in place things that will help students acquire skills in schools, Balogun called on employers of labour to stop worshipping certificates.
“There are furniture makers, fashion designers, builders, among others who are doing better than certificated ones. And blending pure academics with entrepreneurship skills is what will grow the economy,” he said.
