President Bola Tinubu has called on Nigerian universities to place greater emphasis on practical skills, innovation and problem-solving, rather than focusing mainly on the issuance of academic certificates.
According to The Punch, the President said universities must produce graduates equipped to contribute to Nigeria’s economic transformation and remain competitive in an increasingly technology-driven global economy.
Tinubu made the call on Wednesday in Ilorin, Kwara State, while addressing the 37th Annual Conference and General Assembly of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities at the University of Ilorin.
He was represented at the event by the Minister of State for Education, Suwaibat Ahmad.
The President described universities as key institutions in Nigeria’s development, noting that their role extended beyond awarding degrees.
“Universities are more than institutions where degrees are awarded. They are centres of knowledge creation, innovation, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, cultural development and national transformation,” he said.
Tinubu said the effectiveness of university education should be assessed by the ability of graduates to apply their knowledge, develop solutions and make meaningful contributions to society.
He added that graduates should combine academic knowledge with digital competence, entrepreneurial skills, adaptability, ethical values and innovative thinking.
The President urged university administrators to examine whether their curricula remained relevant to emerging technologies and the changing demands of the labour market.
“The question before us is no longer simply whether our universities are producing graduates. The more foundational question is: what kind of graduates are we producing? How effectively are our universities preparing them to contribute to Nigeria’s economic and social transformation?” he asked.
He noted that the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, automation, biotechnology, data science, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing had made the need for relevant skills more urgent.
According to Tinubu, his administration is implementing reforms aimed at improving the quality, relevance, accessibility, affordability and accountability of tertiary education.
He said the Federal Ministry of Education was implementing the Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative, which focuses on institutional governance, quality assurance, research and innovation, digital transformation, skills development and stronger partnerships between universities and industry.
Tinubu further called for increased practical training in universities, saying students should have opportunities to gain hands-on experience alongside classroom learning.
He disclosed that the government had commenced a review of university curricula, particularly in agriculture, to make education more practical and better aligned with the country’s economic needs.
The President also stressed that meaningful reform in tertiary education must be supported by improvements in basic education, noting that the quality of learning at the foundational level determines students’ preparedness for university.
Meanwhile, the Kwara State Government challenged Nigerian universities to ensure that the outcome of the conference produced practical interventions capable of improving the lives of people in their host communities.
The state’s Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development and Supervising Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Lawal Olohungbebe, who represented Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, welcomed the vice-chancellors to Kwara and described the University of Ilorin as one of the state’s important educational institutions.
Olohungbebe said sustainable reforms in tertiary education could not be achieved without addressing challenges confronting basic education.
He urged the university leaders to use their collective expertise to develop workable solutions to the country’s education challenges.
“We look forward to having fruitful deliberations, and not just the ones that will end up on the shelves, but the ones that will end up in our communities, making a local impact and international relevance,” he said.
He described the conference as an opportunity for university administrators to exchange ideas and formulate strategies for strengthening Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
The annual CVCNU conference brought together vice-chancellors and other stakeholders to deliberate on the challenges facing Nigerian universities and explore reforms that would make the institutions more responsive to the country’s technological, economic and social needs.
