Universities Not Producing Graduates Qualified To Be Employed, FG Laments

Minister of State for Education, Anthony Anwukah, has disclosed the intention of the federal government to extend undergraduates year of study before moving on to serve their country under the platform of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Anwukah, who made public the federal governments plan during a two-day retreat themed ‘Elements of Statutory Governance, Procurement and Financial Accounting in Nigerian Universities’, for governing councils of federal universities in Abuja, said the move was because universities are not producing graduates qualified enough to be employed by industries.

The minister speaking at the retreat aimed to address the challenges of the education sector added that the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) to give students a practical view of their course of study is not working.

“The universities are producing products that are not matching the needs of the industries. I urged the Committee of Pro-chancellors and Committee of Vice-Chancellor to end the decline in the standard of education.

“Law students attend Law School for one year before going for NYSC and medical students go for one year Housemanship before they are allowed to practice fully, so it will be necessary for other courses to also go through this process. The Lagos Business School can also serve as one-year after-school training,” he said.