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Akande urges formulation of practical-based curricula

By Ujunwa Atueyi
02 July 2015   |   2:17 am
* Webster varsity to commence MBA programme in Nigeria Professor of Economics and Dean, George Herbert Walker School of Business and Technology, Webster University, United States, Benjamin Olayinka Akande, has called on policy makers and education managers to see to the formulation of practical-based curricula.   Akande who is of the view that the current…
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* Webster varsity to commence MBA programme in Nigeria

Professor of Economics and Dean, George Herbert Walker School of Business and Technology, Webster University, United States, Benjamin Olayinka Akande, has called on policy makers and education managers to see to the formulation of practical-based curricula.
 
Akande who is of the view that the current mode of delivery of education was incapable of taking the country to its expected destination, said something needs to be done urgently in the area of knowledge application.
 
He expressed optimism that the President Muhammadu Buhari –led administration would be open to new ideas, cautioning that no country can be viable without a very sound education system.
 
He spoke at Webster University (Ghana Campus) media briefing in Lagos, to intimate the public of academic programmes and other opportunities at the institution.
 
He said Nigerians need the kind of education offered at Webster, as it is the type that prepares people to succeed in very difficult or challenging situations.
 
Webster University, according to the university don is an American university founded in 1915 with a mission to “transform students for global citizenship and personal excellence.  The Ghana campus officially commenced academic activities in 2013 to deliver high-quality American-style education in a personalised setting.” 
 
Akande, who described Nigerians as “very intelligent and industrious individuals”, added that all that is required to make them excel is the kind of education process that deals with knowledge application.
 
He said, “There is need for the present administration to focus on dealing with this particular issue. Right now, the education system in Nigeria is broken down and not moving at the speed it should. What we hear from employers of labour is that when they hire Nigerian graduates, they know the theories, but they don’t know how to apply it. And so the key thing missing in our education process is how to create a kind of curriculum where theory, though very important, could be linked to application and real life situations. That is where I think education needs to go.

“To fix this, we need resources, commitment by institutions of higher learning to make the adjustment in real time and reconsider what is important to us as a nation, so as to know where to commit our resources. Right now, the system is kind of disparaged. It lacks focus. If we are able to do it, I believe we will be able to create and develop the next Steve Job, the next Bill Gates. They are here, they are somewhere in Nigeria, they are just waiting to be enabled,” he said.
 
He added that the world is now at a stage where being good is not good enough, and so “Nigeria needs to strive for greatness.” He said Webster University’s willingness to come to Nigeria to provide MBA education is a move in the right direction.
 
Director of Webster, Accra, Ghana, Ms Christa Sanders, said that numerous opportunities were available to prospective students from Nigeria and the sub-region, who desire to study at the institution.
 
She said Webster Ghana runs undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Management, International Relations, Media Communications and Business Administration.

A distinguishing feature of Webster education that sets it apart from other universities, Sanders enthused is its global citizenship programme that focuses on developing the skills and abilities of its students to nurture them into becoming global citizens.

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