. Prof. Abdulresaq Na’Allah
Don advocates review of school curriculum for entrepreneurship
By Emmanuel Ologun
Abuja.
The nation’s ruling elite have been advised to liaise with education policy formulators to critically review the existing school curriculum to remove outdated clauses, inherited from the colonial era which have become obsolete and do not serve the needs of the country any longer.
A university lecturer, Professor Abdulresaq Na’Allah, who gave the advice in an interview, advocated the inclusion of entrepreneurship in every level of education starting from primary to tertiary levels to give youths a proper sense of direction and leadership ability.
Na’Allah, a professor of economics, who is the Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship Studies, University of Abuja, said the nation cannot afford not to change with the changing times stressing that the current education curriculum does not reflect the changes and challenges of the times or the advances in technology.
“The realities of life today have changed. It is no longer sufficient for people to go to school, come out with certificates and parade the streets or offices looking for employment. The world outside there has become increasingly automated and industrial-oriented. It is now about innovation and entrepreneurship.
“Therefore, whoever wants to succeed, must acquire one form of entrepreneurial skill or something useful that can be practiced to remain relevant. Some universities are now expecting and making it mandatory that students must have registered a business before their graduation date.
“Lack of entrepreneurship education in our learning system is systemic. It was something we inherited from the colonial period but we do not have to continue with the same system. It was once the in-thing for people to choose which of the ministries or government agencies to work when they graduate but we are now transiting to a new period called ‘a knowledge age.’
“It is the responsibility of our policy-makers and education planners to sit together and fashion out the best policy that will reflect the changes of our time to carry the population along the tide of development as experienced in advanced countries.
“We need knowledge economics in the country now and what does this mean for everybody? It means a drive towards entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship means bringing new knowledge into practice in all facets of life and this can be done at every level of the education ladder. The nation must wake up and adapt to the new realities,” Na’Allah said.
“We recently held the directors of school entrepreneurship centers conference and National Universities Commission [NUC] addressed the gathering and emphasised that already, the review has started but will only affect the universities in the interim. We think it should go further than this to embrace lower levels of the education ladder.
On how loan facilities can be made accessible, Na’Allah said, “Government has many schemes already for the promotion of enterprises but the administration needs to do more to ensure that the facilities get to those who really need them. It’s a problem that the government needs to address very well,” he stated.
[11/29, 9:33 AM] Ologun: .prof, abddelrasaq Na Allah
Director,center for Entrepreneurship studies,university of Abuja.
