By Felix Khanoba
Unemployed graduates have been advised to embrace technical and vocational education to gain new skills that are relevant in present society.
The Vice Chancellor of the Open University of Tanzania (OUT), Prof. Elifas Tozo Bisanda, made the call in Abuja on Friday while delivering the 13th Convocation Lecture of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
Bisanda, whose lecture was titled ‘Is Western Education Still Relevant for Africa?’, challenged African countries to dump the present education system that keeps the people poor.
While lamenting that the growing number of unemployed graduates in Africa is a time bomb waiting to explode, the erudite scholar said there is a need for a drastic change in the education system that holds sway in Africa.
“While the West is determined to keep us Africans where we are, we must take affirmative action to get out of this mess they have imposed on us.
“An education system that keeps us poor, while our resources are being taken away should be changed by any means. Our education should be focused on the societal needs, so that our youth are prepared to participate in the local economy when they leave school.
“Those who graduated previously from colleges and universities and cannot get gainful employment must be encouraged to go back to undertake technical and vocational education, to gain new skills that are relevant for this age,” he said.
Speaking further, Bisanda advocated for a change in the way institutions examine students, saying, “We should not try to find out how much of what they learned they can remember, but test on how they can apply the knowledge acquired.
“I can see a future where all examinations will be oral, or written in an in an open book. Use any tool available to solve a problem, even AI. Those who have good communication skills, practical skills, and analytical skills, are what employers now need. In the future, getting a job will be based on the graduates’ ability to tell the employer what he/she can contribute to the organization, rather than showing a degree certificates.”
Also speaking at the event, the Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Prof. Olufemi Peters reiterated the need for technical education, saying that the acquisition of diverse skills will provide employment to graduates.
While calling on Africans to fully identify themselves by applying homegrown solutions to some of the challenges bedeviling the continent, Prof. Peters also called for a new approach to learning.
“Learning today can be anywhere…., it must not only be in the classroom,” he posited.
The AUTHORITY reports that one of the highlights of the event was the presentation of a plaque to Prof. Bisanda.
