By Yekeen Nurudeen
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has advocated that the curriculum for Nigerian Universities must focus on innovation in order for Nigeria to be competitive in the technology-driven global economy.
According to the former President, innovation is the responsibility of all Nigerians at this critical period irrespective of their field of experience.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday at the second National Universities Commission, NUC, Distinguished lecture, Obasanjo said the country,particularly at this time needs innovation urging
universities, states as well as local governments to introduce innovations into the ways they carry out their day- to- day activities.
He also emphasized that research and innovation may go together noting that research remains an important responsibility of the university.
“But innovation is the responsibility of all of us regardless of what we do. No matter at what level, no matter the magnitude, no matter the goals to be achieved there must be curriculum which is the
guide to lead to the mission of the objectives of that educational institution.
“I think that has been established from time when education was first established by man in the form it is no longer learning from the community, when you have some form of institutions.
“And through the ages, the question that has been consistently asked is education for what? Education for knowledge,education for skills, education for freedom, education for self-reliance,education for self-sufficiency, it can go on.
“But whatever our education is for,I believe one important aspect in a dynamic society, in a dynamic
situation, is that the curriculum must be innovated, invigorated, re-engineered and be made dynamic.”
While delivering his lecture, a former Executive Secretaryof NUC, Peter Okebukola, a professor of
Computer and Science Education, pointed out five weaknesses of Nigerian university curriculum in comparison to those of Harvard, MIT and Oxford.
According to Okebukola who spoke on “On the March to Reinvent the Curricular of Nigerian Universities for Improved Relevance and Global Competition”, Nigerian curriculum is too weak in providing exposure to practical experiences adding that there are too many theoretical and too few practicals.
He also pointed that the curriculum is weak in promoting innovation as well as having too many traditional courses and too few courses in emerging disciplines and programmes, just as he stressed that the curriculum is weak in promoting development of 21st century skills.
The curriculum, he added lacks capacity to foster the development of values. But he recommended that the NUC should collect data on areas needing improvement in the 13 disciplines, and new programs without the Commission’s approved Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard, BMAS
that have been developed by universities.
He said there is also the need to collect information rapid needs assessment of labour market
Okebukola said NUC must convene a team of experts in 13 panels to review the 2011 Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard, BMAS based on empirical data collected.