FEATURE: As graduates increase yearly and jobs dwindle, here’s one way to solve the problem

Bashar Shehu, 29, is one among the thousands of Nigerian graduates roaming the streets in search of job opportunities after graduation.

As a graduate of Industrial Chemistry from the Federal University of Birnin Kebbi in 2020, he has been struggling to secure a job for himself ever since then, as he sweeps his city every day in search of employment opportunities.

In order to survive the economic hardship in the country, Bashar engaged himself in part-time jobs like freelance tutoring and some odd jobs to earn a living, but still in the hope of securing a stable job one day.

However, he regretted his in-action of failing to learn entrepreneurship skills while on campus, saying he would have become self-employed instead of searching to be employed.

“Unemployment has affected my daily life, making it difficult for me to support myself financially. This has increased difficulties and anxiety within me everyday. It has also impacted my mental health by causing feelings of frustration and low self-esteem.”

“I faced different challenges in my quest for a job. Lack of experience, failure to learn a practical skill, limited job opportunities available in my field, and strong competition have compounded the problem.”

Bashar Shehu is not alone. Data from the World Bank showed that unemployed Nigerians with advanced education hit 13.69 percent in 2016, and 15.3 percent in 2019 respectively.

Similarly, an earlier submission by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2016 showed that 52 million newly graduates within the economically active population of Nigeria have no job, hence are unemployed.

In addition, statistics by Temitope J. Owolabi and Oluyemi Adeosun from University of Lagos have shown that active ages between 16 to 54 which represents 115.5 millions of the Nigerian population are unemployed. This is due to the decline in the manufacturing sector — compelling half of the graduates produced by Nigeria annually to continue struggling in search of jobs.

Importance of Extracurricular Activities

Adewale Abdulhafees Ololade, a graduate of Educational Foundations from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, identified Godfathering as a major plague ravaging every sector in Nigeria _ while securing a job opportunity has become a matter of connection in the country. “Those that have Godfathers get jobs even before graduations”, he said.

Furthermore, he identified the importance of engaging in extracurricular activities as an ideal to prepare oneself for life after graduation. He emphasised on the needs for students to prepare for their future while in school as one of the solutions to settle the menace of unemployment.

“White colour jobs are not available anymore. Graduates should not depend on that but you can go for extracurricular activities during your undergraduate level which will help you after graduation.”

“The labour market will not only look for what you have, they also look into what you can deliver”

Buhari Muhammad Bawa, 26, another graduate from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, likened the stereotype to the poor performance of many students and how they targeted their goals as to just bagged the certificate instead of achieving academic excellence.

“During our orientation program in 100-Level, I could remember some of our seniors told us that ‘Even if it is E, just read to pass’ “that is not how it works at all, if you take education seriously, it will take you places you never imagined.”m

“With good and excellent results, you can get scholarships abroad if Nigeria is not okay for you”, he said, affirming his previous statement.

“There are many grants out there waiting for you. I know many of my friends during my 300-Level that succeeded before graduating, and with their good grades, they flew abroad immediately after we graduated.” Buhari said, assuring this reporter.

Accordingly, a study by Babatope in 2020 revealed that 134 polytechnics are currently recognized in Nigeria (57 privately owned, 48 state-owned, and 29 run by the federal government) as of October 2019. In the same vein, presently, Nigeria has 174 universities among which 79 are privately owned, 52 are owned by states while the remaining 43 are under the control of the federal government.

In sum, there are 308 degree-awarding institutions in Nigeria, admitting a population of about two million students and graduating about 600,000 students yearly. In a couple of years to come, the total number of institutions awarding degrees will double, and up to one million graduates may be turned out and added to the employment queue and unemployment market annually. This was predicted in a paper presented by Ajibefun in 2015.

Experts Suggest Way Forward

In an interview with this reporter, Mallam Gado, an entrepreneur officer at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, said that unemployment is a major challenge battling most of the developing nations such as Nigeria.

While expressing his concerns about how unemployed graduates outnumber workplaces in the country, he emphasised on the significance of entrepreneurship and skills acquisition as an additional value to formal education.

“Youth should be taught skills in their various fields and ways to commercialise those skills. This will help them to become self-reliant. They will become employers, not employees after graduation.”

Speaking on the need to introduce entrepreneurship courses to students’ curriculum, Professor Sani Dantani Manga, a Professor of Educational Management at UDUS, and an expert in educational administration faulted the educational system in Nigeria.

He further mentioned that the National University Commission (NUC) is planning to equip students with employable skills, which will prepare them ahead of their graduation instead of depending on governmental jobs and paper qualifications.

“Bygone are those days when education gives people work even before they graduate. This is not happening in the country anymore. You need skills to survive, not paper qualifications.

“A vulcanizer may make ₦5,000 everyday, making ₦150,000 in a month, earning more money than a salary earner.”

Notwithstanding, Professor Sani Dantani Manga blamed the policymakers, educators, and potential employers for their inaction — as they, according to him, are supposed to provide more support and resources to graduates.

“With internship opportunities, training programs, and job placement services from these sets of people, the gap between education and unemployment will be bridged.”

By: Shamsudeen Abubakar

The post FEATURE: As graduates increase yearly and jobs dwindle, here’s one way to solve the problem appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Naomisophyblog.