President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been making significant strides in transforming Nigeria’s tertiary education system, according to Joseph Ari, the Director-General of Industrial Training Fund (ITF).
The DG said the recent signing of the 2023 Access to Higher Education Act, also known as the Student Loan Act, by the President embodies his dedication to enacting his campaign commitments.
Ari shared these insights at a gathering hosted by the Forum for Innovation in African Universities (FIAU) and the ITF in partnership with Rohde and Schwarz and the National Universities Commission.
The discussion centered around the theme “Strengthening Africa’s Higher Education in a Post-Covid-19 World.”
Ari expressed optimism about the student loan program’s potential to broaden access to loans for students to finance their tertiary education.
He stated, “By signing this act as his first executive action in office, President Tinubu has indicated that he is committed to breathing life into our failing tertiary education system.”
Ari urged regulators, government agencies, employers and multilateral organizations to keep contributing actionable concepts that would align with Tinubu’s future plans.
Reflecting on challenges encountered by African tertiary institutions in the post-Covid-19 eras, Ari mentioned increased dropout rates, mounting student debt, prolonged graduation times, and thwarted academic aspirations.
Infrastructure concerns like unstable power supply, an energy crisis, heightened insecurity, and hesitancy among teachers and school administrators to adopt new technology also featured in his discourse.
Highlighting ITF’s significant role in Human Resources Development (HRD) over the past half a century, Ari disclosed that the fund had initiated the transformation of its Skills Training Centres (STC) to vocational centres in multiple states including Lagos, Kano, Kogi, Abuja, and Plateau.
FIAU’s founder, Paschal Anosike, voiced his initiative’s motivation to bridge the gap in African higher education.
Sarah Agbor, former African Union Commissioner for Education, appreciated the forum’s timeliness, touching upon the pressing issue of Africa’s high unemployment rates.