Nigeria must reward practical skills over certificates, former EKSU VC says

Nigeria must place greater emphasis on practical competence, innovation and problem-solving instead of treating academic certificates as the main measure of ability, Prof. Oladipo Aina, a former Vice-Chancellor of Ekiti State University, has said. Aina, who is Pro-Chancellor of Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere-Ekiti, spoke at Ekiti State College of Technology, Ijero-Ekiti, during the institution’s combined convocation lecture.

The lecture was titled “From skills to solutions: Repositioning technical education for Nigeria’s technological and industrial transformation.” He said Nigeria could not achieve meaningful industrialisation by producing graduates without the practical skills needed to address real-world problems. He urged students not to define themselves by their certificates or regard an HND as a limitation, but to see themselves as technically trained professionals. Aina also called for a national skills-forecasting system that could identify emerging labour-market requirements before shortages became severe.

He said technical institutions needed stronger participation from industry in curriculum design, modern laboratories and workshops, applied research, entrepreneurship and closer relationships with employers. He proposed an annual EKSCOTECH Innovation and Technology Expo. According to him, the event could allow students to display prototypes, researchers to present applied work, industries to identify practical problems and investors to examine potential innovations.

Aina described technical education as strategic economic infrastructure and called on the Ekiti State Government to sustain investment in facilities, digital connectivity, staff development, research, innovation and financing. EKSCOTECH Rector Olufemi Olubamise said the institution was equipping students with practical skills to support self-reliance after graduation. Governing Council Chairman Femi Thomas praised Aina’s focus on solutions to challenges facing graduates and credited Governor Biodun Oyebanji with supporting the institution’s development.