Revving up efforts to boost students’ practical skills, employability

Concerned by the parlous and worrisome state of education in the country, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last year vowed to turn around the sector and make it fit for purpose.

Towards realising this, his administration approved system-wide policies that would comprehensively overhaul the sector; improve learning and skill development; increase enrolment, and ensure the academic security of young Nigerians.

Contained in the comprehensive four-year strategic plan that is meant to serve as a roadmap for the sector’s rejuvenation are strategies designed to tackle inherent challenges, and also shape the future of education.

Specifically, the approved policies viz Data Repository, Out-of-School Children Education, Teacher Training/Development, and Skill Development and Acquisition (DOTS) are all nestled within a framework that is meant to address education quality, skill-gaps, as well as, all unemployment concerns with students compulsorily acquiring certain skill sets, in addition to general knowledge.

The immediate past Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, while shedding light on moves to give the sector a new lease of life, last year said: “There is a general concern about the behaviour and conduct of our young ones in the country, and our social values, and civic education is compulsory in secondary schools. But with all that, we still have some deterioration and serious concerns about our national values.

“So, we are rolling out a new curriculum for primary schools and secondary schools in Nigeria from this October, which is supposed to incorporate knowledge, skills, and values, especially with a special focus on skills, so that our students will have skills that they can connect with the economy when they graduate.”

The addition of 15 mandatory skills for students in the new Basic Education Curriculum (which came into effect last month) for primary and junior secondary schools, is the first major step in the actualisation of the ongoing reform. 

The new subjects aimed at boosting primary and secondary school students’ practical skills and employability include basic digital literacy (IT and robotics); POP installation, interior design; GSM repairs; satellite/TV antenna installation, CCTV, and intercom installation among others.
  
While educational experts view this initiative as laudable since it will cause basic education graduates to show some inclinations towards entrepreneurship, they also lament that persons who have completed secondary education are no longer resilient, adaptable, have a growth mindset, sound work ethic, and do not possess teamwork/collaboration abilities.
 
This explains why some parents, educators, and other stakeholders in the education value chain, especially at higher education levels, are increasingly mortified with how uncouth, timid, and unprepared some learners are after 12 years of learning.

As the Tinubu-led administration commences the exposure of students to both theoretical and practical knowledge in an attempt to redefine and revolutionise learning, a lot of optimism is also coalescing even among private educators.

The Professional Apprenticeship Scheme (PAS) spearheaded by Mind Builders School, Lagos, is one of such initiatives aimed at enriching the school’s educational bouquet and making its “products fit easily into the world of work,” as well as, having the skills that would connect with the economy.

According to the school’s management, PAS was designed to expose “our SS3 students at the end of their SS2 to their scientifically-determined future career environment for a month-long internship,” which marks a significant milestone in the history of the school as it celebrates innovation, skill acquisition, and career readiness among the students.

Indeed, that objective was realised if comments from some of the beneficiaries are anything to go by. For instance, Anjolaoluwa Tinubu, one of the students, who apprenticed at Reddington Hospital, Lagos, emphasised that the exposure has not only fired her up but further convinced her to become a medical doctor.
 
Said she: “My Professional Apprenticeship Scheme (PAS) at Reddington Hospital, Lagos, was full of fun and highly informative and educative. I learnt about the different departments in a hospital as an integral part of medicine. I also saw some practical aspects of medicine. Indeed, the different people and professionals that I encountered in a big space like Reddington Hospital further gave me the courage and confidence to want to study medicine. At the end of it all, the PAS Presentation Ceremony organised by my school was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a young learner like me.

Ademilade Aderogba, another beneficiary of the programme said: “My Professional Apprenticeship Scheme (PAS) experience was an eye-opener to me. It provided me with ample knowledge about my future career choice – data science. New Horizon System Solution Limited was very helpful in this regard. I am very grateful for the opportunity that I was given to understudy data scientists at work. The environment, in which I learnt was welcoming and fun to be in… And I was equipped with adequate knowledge about data science and a vivid mental picture of what it takes to be an excellent data scientist. Even though opportunities like these are rare, the entire scheme was well structured by the school. Nothing compares to the real-life experience of a future data scientist. It is an experience that I will not forget any time soon.”

For Kehinde Ilozobhie: “My Professional Apprenticeship Scheme at Brooks and Blake, a public relations firm was an amazing experience for me because I got immersed in the real world of work. On my first day of work, the manager told me that he would not treat me as an intern, but as a worker if I must learn effectively. Consequently, I participated in meetings and PR designs. My views and opinions were considered at the meetings, and this encouraged and made me further want to study public relations at the university. I am grateful to Mind Builders Education Trust for this opportunity made possible by the PAS.”

Speaking at the inaugural PAS presentation ceremony, the Education Director, Mind Builders High School, Mrs. Bola Falore, said the programme marks a significant milestone in the history of the school as it celebrates innovation, skill acquisition, and career readiness among the students.

Falore said: “At Mind Builders High School, we are committed to providing a holistic education that goes beyond academics to prepare our students for the challenges and opportunities of the future. The Professional Apprenticeship Scheme (PAS) is a testament to this commitment, offering our students a platform to explore their future career interests, acquire practical skills, and gain valuable real-world experience.

“This initiative is particularly close to our hearts because it aligns with our vision of nurturing confident, creative, and competent young leaders, who are ready to contribute meaningfully to society.”
   
But at what point did the school consider initiating the scheme, Falore told The Guardian: “The PAS curriculum was agreed upon with our organisational partners before the students were sent to them. We took care in the selection of these organisations as one of the best in their professional fields…Moreover, we believe that an experience such as PAS will motivate them to produce excellent and highly competitive results in their Ordinary Level SS3 subjects, and the JAMB. This is in readiness for the critical studies in their chosen careers in the universities. Our aim at Mind Builders High School is to produce young Nigerians who will be critical in thinking and finding solutions to observed challenges in their immediate society, Nigeria, and the world at large. The PAS simply puts our SS2 graduates into their future career work environment as an opportunity for our partner organisations to take part in training their future workforce. Several of these organisations invest a fortune in retraining school products when they hire them. A programme like PAS that gives them the opportunities to train their future workforce while they are still in school is likely to reduce their professional development funds,” Falore explained.

“The universities, which have also latched on to this curriculum, are now exposing their students to entrepreneurial skills that will make them self-reliant after their university education. Here at Mind Builders High School, we are contemplating sending our JS3 students on entrepreneurial skills acquisition immediately after their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to fill in the gap between the end of this examination, and when they would start the senior secondary school. This way, we hope that they will acquire skills that they can build on in the mandatory entrepreneurial skill development curriculum at the senior secondary school,” the education director stated.

In her remarks, the Chairperson of the event and former Commissioner for Education, Lagos State, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, said: “The secondary school experience shouldn’t just be about academics. Secondary school is a stage where children are also thinking about their future. What are they going to become? Where are they going to go? What are they going to do? Even the friends they are going to have. And this kind of experience can only expose them to even more than what they know normally,” she said.

The Managing Director, TVC Entertainment, Dr. Morayo Afolabi-Brown, advised students that are embarking on the scheme to lay the foundation for future job placements with these organisations through dedication, hard work and always being available for assignments.
She tasked them to be invaluable during the scheme by making themselves available to provide support for those supervising them during the training period.