Danbatta tasks academia on solutions to challenges in ICT sector

, the executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has tasked the academia to research and come up with solutions to challenges plaguing the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector.

Danbatta gave this charge last week in a paper entitled: “The Place of Academia in the Telecoms Ecosystem” at the first Stakeholders Consultative Forum with Academia in Abuja.

According to him, the academia should be able to go into research and find solution to issues such as channel congestion that had been hampering smooth communication by subscribers.

He said that there seemed to be disconnections between the academia and the life on the streets as well as the daily expectations of the ordinary man.

“The academia is not living up to our expectations when its expertise is not wired into the experience of the kind of market we are speaking about.

“The academia should be at the vanguard of translating the technicality of technology to suit the needs of those who use them thereby making life easy for society.

“It is the responsibility of the academia to reclaim its expected role by ensuring that research activities of its members will enhance and re-orient the market needs of the consumers and they will benefit from it.

“The academia must attune itself to the reality on the street and search for solutions that can enhance life and businesses; it must contribute to the real world,” Danbatta said.

The NCC boss said that the forum was important because the commission aimed to use it to help the academia to impact life and businesses with their research and scholarships.

“The Nigerian Communications Act 2003, among others encourages the development of communications manufacturing and supply sector within the Nigerian economy.

“It also mandates the promotion of effective research and development efforts by all communications industry partners,” he said.

Danbatta, therefore, called on the academia to play a more productive role in the telecommunications industry with their researches having in focus the Buhari administrations change agenda of fighting corruption, providing employment and security.

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Rasheed, called for strategic partnership among all stakeholders.

“We need to work together to develop a list of competences and competences indicators to bridge the job gaps relevant in the telecom sector.

“We need to equip most of our lecturers to be in tune with the global trend in technological advancement, lecturers must be competent in building the capacity of our students.

“We need to enhance teachers’ quality, funding and have the correct focus for the funds.

“There must be a well articulated plan on what funds should be used for and the time-frame when such objectives must be achieved,” Rasheed said