The need to change University Education from degree awarding to problem solving institutions has been advocated.
Managing Director Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku who made this known while delivering convocation lecture at the combined convocation ceremony of Federal University OTUOKE, Bayelsa State, explained that the issue of sustainable nation building should be given adequate attention.
“My dear audience, the message is simple: the problems our universities should be solving are not imported; they are home-grown. A university that ignores local problems is like a doctor living in a sick community and choosing to specialize in abstract diseases that his patients will never have.
The next question then becomes:
How Do We Retool University Education for Sustainable Nation-Building?”
Retooling means redefining the university, in our laws and in our practice, as a problem-solving and future-shaping institution. In simple terms, the main question is no longer, “How many graduates did we produce?” but “What national and local problems did we help to solve?” Then, our curriculum has to be transformed, and I use the word “transformation” deliberately.”
The Managing Director told the people that it was necessary to emphasize problem solving and solutions to the issues affecting the region and nation at large, as against paper qualifications.
Dr. Ogbuku called on donor agencies to invest in problem solving infrastructure in the Universities to provide enabling environment for students to learn skills.
“Additionally, to retool, our universities must focus on research and knowledge production. If we are serious about sustainable nation-building, university research must be more than a personal promotion ladder. This means incentivizing applied and transdisciplinary research that brings together engineers, social scientists, environmentalists, economists, health experts, and communities to work on shared problems. You can see a similar pattern in countries like Brazil and India, where universities and public research institutes have played key roles in areas like tropical agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and IT services.”
In an address, the Vice Chancellor Federal University OTUOKE, Professor Teddy Adias enjoined the graduating students to be shining examples of the institution.
Professor Adias who described the institution as one of the new universities in the country, expressed confident of the quality of their graduates.
The VC appreciated NDDC for the gesture and acknowledged that the commission has made significant progress in recent times.
NDDC has already awarded contract for construction of Convocation Arena, Copers’ Lodge as well as internal roads in the school.
