Achievers Varsity’s 13th Anniversary Lecture: Scholars recommend panaceas to unemployment
Dec 12, 2020
By Adeboye Ado
As Achievers University, Owo, Clocks 13, the founder of the institution, Dr. (Hon) Bode Ayorinde, has expressed deep concern over the spate of unemployment, while advocating industrialization as a panacea.
Dr Ayorinde made the disclosure during the 13th Anniversary Lecture of the University titled: “Challenges of Re-inventing Quality University education in Nigeria”.
The former House of Representatives member explained that Ondo State has over nine tertiary institutions with no industries to engage graduates, noting that unemployment is another fault-line facing the nation.
Corroborating the aforestated, Dr Ayorinde said creation of one industry in each of the 18 local Government areas of the State would help to reduce drastically, number of jobless graduates and other unemployed people in the state.
Earlier, the Guest Lecturer, Prof Jide Owoeye, stated that it is largely erroneous to hold the perception that Private Universities are after Evangelism and profits.
He argued that ab initio, government never established its schools for selfless purposes alone, maintaining that public universities also impose some charges to meet their overheads.
Prof Owoeye words: “It could also be argued that when critics generally input profit motive or evangelism as the main motivation of private providers of higher education, they should remember that government itself did not start universities for just altruistic purposes alone.
“There was always something to profit from such endeavors. Further more we often forget that even public universities impose some charges to meet their overheads.
“Apart from subventions from government, public universities still collect gifts, endowments and engage in all kind of paid consultancies; therefore public universities tend to be profit minded as well.
Prof. Owoeye who is the Pro Chancellor of Lead City University, Ibadan, also stressed that a profitless adventure of any kind cannot be sustainable because the enterprise will fail to survive not to talk of regenerate itself.
Piqued by another wrong perception that graduates are unemployable, the Don said: “that Nigerian graduates are unemployable is one of the latest fads comom place among those with scant knowledge of the relationship between educational attainment and employability”.
Prof Owoeye commended the authorities of Achievers University, Owo for unprecedented academic efficiency and for being in the forefront of providing qualitative University education in the last 13years in the country.
In his remark, the Vice Chancellor of Achievers University, Owo, Prof Samuel Aje said the school had produced effugent graduates, maintaining that the 13th Anniversary is worthwhile to celebrate.
A seasoned Eduacationist, Prof. Popoola, lauded Achievers University for its expansion in infrastructural development, qualitative education and host of others.
