Nigerians should give less priority to school certificates – Pantami

The Minister for Communication and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami, has called on the stakeholders to place less emphasis on certificates obtained from school but should instead put more emphasis on the skills which would make Nigerian graduates employable.

The Minister expressed worry over the situation of the country whereby graduates finished university and were not unemployable, saying there was a difference between unemployment and unemployability.

Pantami stated this at the 12th convocation lecture he delivered at the Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, on Friday. The lecture was titled,  “Digital innovation and entrepreneurship: a panacea for unemployment.”

According to him, there was a mismatch between the quality of Nigerian graduates and the skills for job opportunities available globally, stressing that, in Nigeria and Africa at large. there was a need to address the issue of mismatch between what graduates have to offer and what employers want

In his words, “We prioritize certificates too much in Nigeria. Certificates without any skill to offer.  Certificates without the expertise to take up any opportunity. Our priority should be on the skill we obtain.

“The requirement for job opportunities are changing every day. We need to teach our children how to provide solutions to complex problems. We need to prioritize soft skills. We need to teach them critical thinking. We need to provide some hours for free for our students and others to think deeply and identify a challenge so that they can provide a solution. We need to prioritize the skills we give them.”

The minister however disagreed with the impression that there was a high employment rate in the country saying most jobs in Nigeria were in the informal sector.

“If we can leverage on the opportunities available within the digital economy sector through digital innovation on one hand and digital entrepreneurship, on the other hand, we will be equated with the economy of the G7 nations,” he recommended.