Do More Initiative, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has called on the federal government to review the educational curriculum to address unemployment in Nigeria.

Deborah Mshelia, the executive director of the NGO, made the call at an event it organised on Saturday in Jos, tagged “The Upcycle Exhibition”.

Ms Mshelia, an architect, said that such a move would not only create employment opportunities for young people but also boost the nation’s revenue.

The executive director, who said that most developed countries relied on skills and technology to boost their economies, added that the needed reform of Nigeria’s education curriculum would align with current realities.

She particularly said that Nigeria’s education system should be geared towards producing critical thinkers, job creators and problem solvers.

“I think our educational curriculum at all levels should be reviewed to meet current realities.

“I am blessed because in school of architecture, we weren’t just taught how to construct buildings, but how to think. I have been able to apply that principle to many other things.

“And I think that’s the way our education system should go. The system should produce people that can critically think and solve problems using local solutions.

“The curriculum should focus on skill acquisition; let’s see young people doing things with their hands and using their talents to create jobs at all levels,” she said.

Ms Mshelia also called on parents to encourage their wards to acquire other skills in addition to Western education.

“Parents need to seriously support their children to acquire other skills.

“Gone are the days when we think that our children are too weak to go and learn carpentry. This is why we are practically losing our local crafts in Nigeria.

“These same crafts are what other countries are exporting and boosting their economy through foreign exchange,” she said.

On the exhibition, Ms Mshelia said that her organisation, under the “School to Stuff” project, had trained and supported 10 young people to turn waste into wealth.

The executive director, who said that 20 applicants had initially been selected for the project, regretted that only 10 eventually turned up and participated.

“Waste management in Nigeria is a huge problem, and that’s why we trained these 10 young people and supported them to create wealth from the waste in their environment.

“We simply supported them to use their creativity to turn waste into wealth; that way, we are also solving the problem of unemployment and underemployment in Nigeria,” she said.

Ms Mshelia, who advised Nigerians to put their ingenuity to good use, also called on young people to shun all forms of social vices and be good ambassadors of Nigeria.

She, however, advised the government to initiate policies and programmes that would enable young people to put their skills to proper use. 

(NAN)