Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has called for a comprehensive review of the country’s education system to bridge the gap between educational institutions and the needs of industries.
Zulum made the call while receiving the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, who paid him a courtesy at the Government House, Maiduguri.
According to a statement by Zulum’s spokesman, Dauda Iliya, on Saturday, the governor expressed concern that many graduates produced by higher institutions lack the necessary skills to drive innovation and technological advancement.
He urged NELFUND to critically assess the issue and implement solutions that would enable graduates to become self-employed rather than depend on limited job opportunities.
“We have two major problems in our educational system: the mismatch between educational institutions and industries, as they do not communicate effectively, and the mismatch between the labour market and graduates, many of whom are unprepared to work in the industries,” Zulum said.
The governor also urged NELFUND to support entrepreneurship, technical education, and vocational training programmes.
“Beyond offering loans, I urge you to explore ways to support entrepreneurship education and promote technical and vocational training to reduce the reluctance toward these critical areas of study,” he added.
Earlier speaking, Sawyerr said the fund’s mission was to tackle the growing issue of students dropping out of school due to financial constraints.
He noted that the loan is interest-free, with repayment set at 10 per cent of the recipient’s income upon securing employment.
