Education should focus on entrepreneurship

The International Society of Comparative Education, Science and Technology (ISCEST) has suggested ‎the need to focus on entrepreneurship as a means of economic growth for Nigeria.

ISCEST has ‎also stressed the need for quality assurance with respect to teacher education and training, emphasis on sustainable education and development as a means to keep Nigeria ecologically balanced and the utilisation of leadership, mentorship development, institutional integrity, expanded capacity and alignment in decision-making processes.

These views are contained a communiqué signed by its President and Conference Chair, Prof Steve Azaiki, at the end of the just-concluded 3rdAnnual Conference held at the Presidential Hotel, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. 

At the conference, with the theme, Science and Technology, Education and National Development, ISCEST eemphasised the need to sustain Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for economic development in Bayelsa State; and a dire need to reduce financial loss to farmers by preventing the spoilage of vegetables; an imperative to address coagulation, factor and fibrinolytic screening to improve the health of diabetic patients; and attention to reducing heavy metal content in the soil in order to increase soil fertility.
 
The Society advocated an increase in budgetary allocation to subsectors for improving the water supply and recommended the reforming of the education curriculum to accommodate African indigenous knowledge.

Azaiki explained that there ‎is critical need to treat spring water before human consumption to decrease bacteria diseases and called for increase in microalgae cultivation to be used as an alternative source of fuel and industrial feedstock, control of losses due to post-harvest and storage diseases of yams and attention to the polymerisation of gaseous olefins to yield more gasoline.

He said ISCEST promises to continue to play an important role in helping researchers to raise awareness of the many preoccupations that adversely affect Nigerian communities, and therefore reasserts its commitment to disseminating concerns to the authorities, via similar communiqués.

“To this end, it urged a synergy and collaboration between ISCEST and policy makers, government and non-government personnel, community groups and organisations and concerned citizens” he said.

The ‎keynote addresses were given by Victor Nobuo Kobayashi, Professor Emeritus of Educational Foundations at the University of Hawaii and President of World Comparative and International Education Society 2006; Prof Charl Wolhuter, President of Southern African Comparative and History of Education Society (SACHES) and Bernard Efiuvwevwere, Professor of Microbiology and former Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt.

Among other notable presenters were Prof Lale, Vice Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt and Prof Edmund Allison-Oguru, who represented former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.