6 months degree: “Skills not degrees” is the only savior

By Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim, Goronyo

If criteria for employment will be base on skills; that is practical display, language command and writing things will go all in the country, but alas, Nigeria keep moving on the same rail of mistakes for may years while the country keep suffering.

On Interview, questions on current affairs are of the oldest time because the time has moved into civilization of 21st century. It is in this light Prof. Idris M. Bugaje, the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE came with a simple concept to understand the way forward for the country with a book, ” Skills Not Degrees: The Future of Works Globally” to save Nigerian education and make skills display a criteria for employment and study in schools. And, globally that is the trend helping the developed country progressing, and why Nigeria cannot take a cue?

For sure, if skill is given the best priority a graduate that cannot write well and speak the official language cannot be employed as a staff of any organization. But, painfully, It is in this country more than 20,000 teachers were sacked because they were not professional on their jobs, and everything went well as if we didn’t see the sky falling on us to stand for the better tomorrows.

NYSC has being doing well in its own part to save Nigerian education. As a training agency of graduating students, it did it best to discover in 2018 that there were some corp members that cannot write and speak English. That outburst drawn the attention of National Universities Commission, NUC and the Federal Government of the country which led to the ban of many illegal African universities. That was a good effort but the Ministry of Education killed a snake and didn’t cut the head because the culprits behind such crime were not exposed.

The crack in what DAILY NIGERIAN report on how Nigerians got 6 months degree is beyond the wall because there are existing universities in the country that do the same and until they are flushed out too, the menace will keep growing. Some private universities in Nigeria, Africa or in any part of the world may matters a lot about the money to get than than the knowledge to give to students. And, if skills is not considered more than a degree certificate the problem will continue to create the cracking problems in the Nigerian education and development.

Degree is a certificate but the skills is the knowledge, the solution, and graduates that cannot solve the solution in their working places either on skills and language should be verified. The government should track such qualifications from working places for verification.

The bell has been rang and it is now in the side of the government to take one of the two options provided by Professor Idris M. Bugaje, “skills or degree: what makes a career?”

However, the corrupt elements making the illegal six months degree possible should not be left to glare as their time has ended. A committee on this illegal practice should be constituted and all elements of the disaster should face the wrath of the law for others to take redress.

Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim Goronyo is a lecturer of Mass Communication Department, Kaduna Polytechnic can be reached at auwalgoronyo@gmail.com