By Funmilayo Adeyemi
The Federal Government is reviewing agricultural curricula to strengthen practical training, promote entrepreneurship and improve food security, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has said.
Alausa said this on Monday in Abuja at the unveiling of 39 revised agricultural curricula and 31 national occupational standards for agricultural programmes in tertiary institutions.
He said the reform aimed to make education competency-based, bridge the gap between classroom learning and industry needs, and equip graduates with skills to create jobs.
The minister said the revised curricula introduced an 80 per cent practical training component and 20 per cent theoretical instruction across agricultural programmes in colleges of agriculture, polytechnics and colleges of education.
He said agriculture remained central to Nigeria’s development, but land and natural resources alone could not guarantee higher productivity without skilled personnel, modern technology and adequate funding.
“We need skilled farmers, technicians, educators and entrepreneurs who can apply more technology, respond to changing climatic conditions and have better funding for agricultural education.
“Our responsibility as a government is to ensure that education and training offered in institutions prepare our students to meet these demands,” he said.
Alausa cited Ethiopia and Colombia as examples of countries that had strengthened agricultural output and export capacity through investments in technology, skills and production systems.
He said Nigeria needed to modernise agricultural education to meet the demands of its growing population and reduce dependence on food imports.
According to him, the revised curricula cover emerging areas such as smart agriculture, artificial insemination, agricultural entrepreneurship and modern production technologies.
He urged regulatory agencies to align teaching, assessment, monitoring and accreditation with the revised curricula and occupational standards.
The minister also called on tertiary institutions to partner with established farms and agricultural businesses to provide students with hands-on experience.
He said the government had funded agricultural interventions in selected institutions to improve training facilities and practical learning.
Alausa, however, stressed that adequate funding, modern equipment and qualified instructors were essential to effective implementation.
He said the reform’s success would be measured by graduates’ competencies, jobs created, businesses established and improvements in agricultural productivity.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, said the review covered 39 curricula, comprising three for the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) and 36 for National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes.
Bugaje said the exercise also produced 31 occupational standards covering 81 levels, with new areas introduced to reflect developments in agriculture.
He said some curricula had remained unchanged for more than 15 years because of inadequate funding.
According to him, nearly N1 billion was provided for the exercise, of which N780 million was spent on the review, while N220 million was earmarked for implementation.
Bugaje said implementation would include training lecturers, technicians and technologists across the six geopolitical zones.
He said the training was conducted on farms to expose participants to modern facilities and practical agricultural operations.
The executive secretary called for an agricultural trust fund or the extension of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) interventions to colleges of agriculture.
He said many institutions lacked the laboratories, workshops and facilities needed to implement the revised curricula effectively.
Also speaking, the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, said the revised curricula and occupational standards would help develop a skilled workforce for livestock production and other segments of the agricultural value chain.
Maiha said practical training was essential to improving animal production, breeding, health, processing and marketing.
He urged government agencies, training institutions, private-sector operators and development partners to support implementation of the new standards.
He added that adequate funding, modern facilities and stronger industry partnerships would help equip young people and women with relevant skills, promote enterprise development and improve livelihoods. (NAN) www.nannews.ng
Edited by Tosin Kolade
Comments