Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has said the nation’s focus on paper qualifications over technical expertise and practical skills was the major driver of unemployment and economic stagnation in the country.

The governor has therefore advocated a strategic shift to Vocational and Technical Education (VTE) in Nigeria’s educational curriculum.

Fubara made the advocacy yesterday during the commissioning of three major infrastructure projects at the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Rumuola, in the Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The Governor said that if Rivers State and, by extension, Nigeria must prepare its youths for the challenges of the 21st Century, deliberate and consistent efforts must be made to realign the curriculum with vocational and technical education focused on practical skills for self-employment and job creation.

Fubara recalled that the 6-3-3-4 Educational System, which Nigeria adopted in the 1980s, was designed to prepare young Nigerians for the future through Vocational and Technical Education at the secondary school level.

He said that under the programme, students were expected to advance their educational pursuits to either the Polytechnics or Universities, depending on their capacities, talents and skills at a young age.

According to him, upon completing the first three years of secondary school, a student should have acquired a skill, trade, or craft and could become self-employed.

He lamented that over the years, the country appears to have deviated from that noble vision, and young people have become so obsessed with acquiring certificates and degrees without skills and competencies relevant to the present-day labour market.

The governor explained that the idea behind the Entrepreneurship Centre project at Elechi Amadi Polytechnic is to provide a place where young people can be groomed in relevant skills that could lead them to become employers of labour upon graduation, rather than job seekers.