Why Tech-U, Ibadan is imperative

T HE  Technical University, Ibadan, Oyo State, (Tech-U)established by the Governor Abiola Ajimobi-led administration is indeed cheering news.

It was licensed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in 2012 as the 38th state university, and academic activities will begin next October.

In my view, the coming of the university at this point in Nigeria’s economic and educational history is timely and worthy of applause.  This is in view of the lofty mission of the university to train and cultivate a crop of “technical professionals with requisite entrepreneurial skills, capable of creating jobs and employment.”

Any institution of higher learning that truly sets out to equip learners, not only with knowledge but practical skills surely deserves consideration and all the backing it can get.

And this is why I welcome the idea of Tech-U. Having understood the avoidable aches of our educational system, the university is walking the road that Peter Drucker recommends to anyone who is fed up with orthodoxy: “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.”

To state the obvious, Nigeria now plays host to unemployed, under-employed, and unemployable graduates, most of whom are receivers of education which only filled their heads with theoretical knowledge without the accompaniment of handy skills.

Higher institutions in Nigeria operate in a way that leaves students heavily disadvantaged and, in that connection, less relevant in the world of work and in the vital task of nation building.

Besides, most programmes are designed and taught with negligible or zero awareness of what is required in the market. The sad consequence of this is the lack of productivity of the graduates and an economy propped up by “prebendal” mentality.

The way out of the woods, as recognised by the managers of Tech-U, is to conflate theoretical knowledge with practice; to accord priority to entrepreneurial training and place high premium on skill acquisition.

I am happy that in Tech-U, according to its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ayobami Salami, all students will register for two vocational programmes and be certified in them before graduation. As he said:  “No graduate will come out of Technical University and be roaming the streets.”

Kolade Jimoh

Ogbomosho, 

Oyo State.