The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olusola Oyewole addressing the newly-matriculated students during the Matriculation Ceremony.
The Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Professor Olusola Bandele Oyewole has stressed the need for stakeholders to “Re-think their focus and values in order to ensure that the nation’s Universities build up students that will have the skills and competencies, which will make them to be relevant to the labour market.
Professor Oyewole stated this on Wednesday, at the Matriculation Ceremony of the newly admitted students for the 2012/2013 Academic Session, held at the 2,000 capacity Professor Mahmood Yakubu Lecture Theatre.
The Vice-Chancellor, who lamented the grave decadence in the society, attributed it to the inability of all to rethink our education, noting with dismay that it is a shame for a young man to come through the University and fail to get all the necessary skills needed to compete in our ever evolving knowledge economy, driven by information communication technology.
According to him, “it is a shame that our youths come into the University for a Four Year Program and they end up spending six, seven years not because they have not performed but because of factors beyond them”.
Professor Oyewole added that it is also a shame to send our students to study, only for them to allow themselves to be lured into cultism and other anti-social vices, which destroyed their focus.
He pointed out that “the future of our country depends on the quality of the youths that we are growing today”, while “the future of our country also depends on the quality of education that we give to our youths today”.
He, however, declared that our country is one that is suffering from statistical kwashiorkor, stressing that if not, we wouldn’t be seeing more than 50% of our youths roaming the streets without jobs.
“Our nation is facing a gross youth unemployment challenge, which we need to face, if we want to have a great future as a nation”, he affirmed.
Meanwhile, the Matriculation Ceremony was unique and historic as it was the first the Vice-Chancellor presided over since assumption of office, barely eight months ago.