A Gombe-based entrepreneur, Lawan Abubakar, has said that the introduction of 15 skills and vocations in the basic education curriculum would address unemployment in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the federal government had unveiled a new curriculum that provides for skill acquisition and vocational training in primary and junior secondary schools with effect from 2025.
The curriculum is designed to expose students to at least two skills to enable them to learn trades and become productive after graduating from school.
Pupils in basic and post basic schools would be exposed to plumbing; tiling, hairstyling, floor works, Plaster of Paris (POP), and solar installations, among others.
Abubakar, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Monday in Gombe, said the measure would build the entrepreneurial skills of students to enable them to become self-reliant.
He said that without the skills, Nigeria would continue to battle the challenge of unemployment and poverty, as the government could not provide jobs to all.
According to him, the role of government is not to create jobs but to provide the right environment and support for jobs and wealth to be created.
He said that equipping young people at basic education levels with the right skills and environment would encourage them to become self-employed.
“Skills acquisition remained the best alternative for youths to empower themselves out of poverty and become self-reliant.
“The era of waiting for white-collar jobs are gone, hence the need for all stakeholders to leverage skill acquisition to address joblessness and drug abuse in the country.
“I have been in the vocation of tailoring, cloth weaving and designing for over two decades, and I can tell you I have made enough to take care of my household.
“I don’t think with the new minimum wage, I will want to work for the government because I make enough to take care of my household, and I am satisfied.
“I spend N360,000 monthly on feeding of my household from the proceeds of this vocation; so I don’t need to depend on government or anyone.
“I commend the federal government over the introduction of the 15 vocations in school curriculum. That is the best way to go,” he said.
Abubakar urged the Gombe state government to integrate skills acquisition into its school curriculum.
“I commend the reforms in the education sector in the sate, the government can go further by introducing skills acquisition through practical approach so that pupils could be exposed to trades,” he said.
