The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students Engagement, Sunday Asefon has advocated for a paradigm shift where automatic employment is given to first-class graduates, especially overall best-graduating students from different departments in universities and other tertiary institutions.
Asefon stated this in Abuja on Thursday at the unveiling of the Nigerian students’ flag and renewed hope programme agenda for the students by his office.
He noted that to attract the best brains as well as address the perennial challenge of shortage of lecturers in the university system and other tertiary institutions, the policy of retention of the best-graduating students should be activated.
According to him, absorbing first-class graduates in public service, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), would create a boost to the requisite human capital needed for the acceleration of the economic development of the country.
He expressed the determination of President Bola Tinubu to put an end to attacks on schools and abduction of students for ransom, saying his office is already partnering with various security agencies to ensure effective implementation of the Safe School Initiative of the Federal Government.
The former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), disclosed that his office would hold stakeholders dialogue on the Safe School project, saying this would be done in collaboration with Department of State Service (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Intelligence Agency and security agencies.
He condemned the report that a university was charging students as high as N10,500 for drug tests, vowing to ensure that such illegal charges of students do not stand in line with the directive of President Tinubu stopping any form of increases in charges by public tertiary institutions.
While saying the drug test for students was a welcome development, he said mandating students to pay money is illegal.
“On the issue of drug tests, that will not stand. I will not say they should not conduct a drug test but such tests should be free. If the idea is from NDLEA or university I commend them but I condemn the idea of asking them to pay a fee.”
He disclosed that by March this year, his office would be unveiling the President Leaders Summit Renewed Hope ambassador to renew the hope of Nigerian students so that they could go back to their campuses and enlighten students to key into the agenda of the government.
According to him, there would be “A befitting celebration and rewarding prize for overall best graduates from every tertiary institutions vis-a-viz arrangements of automatic absorption into academic by school authority and other MDAs.”
On concerns being raised on the proposed students loan, Asefon said the government is putting finishing touches to kick start the scheme in January as earlier promised by the President, noting that his office would put an eye on to ensure that deserving students, especially ones get the loan.
“I can assure you that the bottlenecks about the loan are things of the past and we will ensure the indigent Nigerian students get it once the portal is opened. There’s going to be transparency and the president is committed to make it happen,” he said.
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