Nov. 18, 2025
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) says Nigeria should strive to meet the UNESCO recommendation of allocating 15-20 per cent of its national budget to education against the seven per cent it was currently working with.
The Executive Secretary of the Fund, Sonny Echono, said this at the 13th Convocation Lecture of Nile University in Abuja on Tuesday.
Echono spoke on the topic, “Redefining the Nigerian Education System for the 21st Century Workforce”
He noted that the government and all key stakeholders needed to improve the funding for education to adequately equipped the sector with digital tools, state-of-the-art laboratories and qualified instructors.
He cited examples of countries such as Rwanda and Kenya who allocated 18 per cent and 16 per cent of their national budgets to education, respectively in 2021 resulting in significant strides in educational development.
Echono said that the Nigerian education curriculum at all levels required a significant overhaul to meet the needs of the global labor market.
“Current curricula, especially at the secondary and tertiary levels, do not reflect the job market demands of the 21st century.
“Aligning Nigeria’s education curriculum with global labour market demands is crucial for preparing students for the future workforce, which is increasingly shaped by technological advancements, automation, and globalisation.
“The Nigerian curricula should integrate digital literacy, entrepreneurship education, and technical skills across all education levels.
“Subjects such as data science, renewable energy technologres, artificial intelligence, and financial literacy should be common in secondary and tertiary institutions”, he said.
Echono explained that though Nigeria was churning out thousands of graduates annually, youth unemployment continued to rise, leading to high underemployment, social unrest, and associated economic challenges.
He said the missing link was an education system that was grossly misaligned with the requirements of the modern labour market.
“The promotion of the integration of ICT in our education delivery to expand digital literacy across Nigeria is essential for future-proofing the Nigerian education system,” he said.
According to Echono, for Nigeria’s education system to be rightly positioned for the 21st century workforce, the country needs to institute comprehensive professional development framework whereby the teachers are empowered with the relevant skills and resources necessary for modern pedagogy.
The TETFund boss advised that the country should provide entrepreneurship education and training that equip students with the skills and mindset to become job creators rather than job seekers.
“By providing entrepreneurship education and training, tertiary institutions can help foster a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, leading to the creation of new businesses, jobs and industries”, he said.
He expressed concern over technical, vocational education and training, noting that these skills were underutilised in spite their great potential to address the country’s high rate of youth unemployment.
He, therefore. urged the country to draw inspiration from the successful models of vocational systems in countries such as Germany and South Korea, which implemented dual education systems that combine academic education with vocational training.
“Far-reaching reforms that promote vocational education and training are crucial for equipping Nigerian students with practical skills directly applicable to the job market.
“The mandatory skill qualification policy and the introduction of the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) for promoting hands-on skills acquisition, being championed by NBTE, aim to integrate vocational training into the mainstream education system.
” Additionally, the new technical and vocational education and training (TVET) initiated by the Federal Ministry of Education is highly commendable”, he said.
On Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education, he said that STEM education was regarded as a veritable platform for building essential skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving.
Earlier, the Vice- Chancellor of Nile University, Prof. Dilli Dogo, said in the next two years, 40 -50 per cent of executive jobs would become obsolete.
“If we have to move with time, we have to be creative thinkers, we have to be innovative and we have to make sure that graduates of universities must contribute deliberately to economic and national development,” he said. (NAN)
