The Nigerian Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwuka, has proposed a one-year post-graduation training to be offered in some specialized institutions in order to make Nigerian graduates employable.
Prof. Anwuka spoke at a retreat organized by the National Universities Commission, NUC, for members of Governing Councils of federal universities. The retreat, which took place in Abuja, had the theme “Elements of Statutory Governance, Procurement and Financial Accounting in Nigerian Universities.” He regretted that many university graduates in the country are not good enough to be employed by industries.
The Education Minister partly blamed the situation on the failure of the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme, SIWES, in Nigerian universities.
He noted that SIWES has not been playing its role well in bridging the gap between the universities and industries. According to Prof. Anwuka, the proposed one-year re-schooling would serve as a training ground for graduates to be well equipped with the rudiments of the courses they studied at the university.
The SIWES program, which was introduced in Nigerian universities, provides for undergraduates in all science and applied courses to go for industrial attachment in industries and companies relevant to their courses of study.
Prof. Anwuka buttressed his suggestion this way, “Law students attend Law School for one year before going for the NYSC and medical students go for one-year housemanship before they are allowed to practice. So, it will be necessary for graduates of other courses to go through this process.”
