May 18, 2024
A member of the House of Representatives, representing Oshodi Federal Constituency ll, Onuakalusi Okey-Joe, has called on the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, change the trajectory of the nation’s educational system into a functional one that would serve as a springboard for the nation’s desired future.
Fielding questions from newsmen on Friday during the kidpreneurial development and book launch by the Chairman of Business Matters ‘incubators-catch them young’, otherwise called BMI-CTY, Okey-Joe, while lamenting the dysfunctional 6-3-3-4 system, commended BMI-CTY for initiating ideas that would birth the better future the nation desired.
He said, “All over the world, adversity and hardship have always birthed innovations. No man survives in a world where everything is rare. Your instincts help you survive when you find yourself in a difficult situation. No great nation came from heaven. Singapore did it, and China did it.
So the challenges in Nigeria should be a springboard for innovation and ideas that should move us away from where we are to a better future as a nation.
“The only challenge I have about Nigeria is that we don’t have functional education. Functional education is a lifeline situation where problem-solving issues are tabled.
“What we do in our school is teach our students to memorize and pour it out during exams.
“What BMI has done is to bridge that gap in functional education.
“Back then, Nigeria was among the nations that first started the 6-3-3-4 education system.
“The basic idea is that we should put our children in the tragedy of functional education. It is a problem-solving situation; it provides an enabling environment for learning.
“60 per cent of the! Chinese you see around the world didn’t see the four walls of universities; they only attended technical schools.”
In his remarks, the chairman of BMI City, Nnamdi Unachukwu, said, “The good news is that we have found the missing link. It is the missing link that would secure the future of young Nigerians as nation-builders.
“It is a call to action for educational reform that would shape the future of young minds.
“It’s the most innovative way to reduce poverty, unemployment, fraud, and insecurity in Nigeria using entrepreneurship education. It took years of research, consultation, and hard work. It is Business Matters Incubators.”
