Gov Mbah of Enugu blames Nigerian Universities for the nation’s underdevelopment
Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, has lamented that Nigerian universities are one of the reasons behind the underdevelopment and record unemployment level in Nigeria.
He made this assertion during the 1st Enugu State University of Science and Technology Distinguished Personalities Lecture Series, held on Tuesday.
He held that, if Nigeria does not revamp its educational system, industrialisation and economic growth would be an impossible feat to achieve.
“Why do Nigerian universities seldom feature on the global ranking list of world’s best universities? Why have they seemed perennially unable to become the ideas factory which universities ought to be? Why are our universities not producing inventive graduates?”
“The answers to these questions lie in many inconvenient truths, amongst which is the fact that the learning in our schools, from basic to tertiary, has for years not imbued our young people with productive skills and competencies. This is the root cause of our underdevelopment,” Mbah held.
Mnah pointed to USA and other leading world nations and how they pump money into their education sector yearly.
“So, we hereby announce as a policy that all state-owned tertiary institutions in Enugu State must henceforth deliver experiential learning to our children. We want to see this change reflected in planning, budgeting, curriculum reform, assessment and promotions, as well as research.
“Experiential learning ensures that education is deeply connected to the challenges and opportunities of the real world.
“It fosters critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. It empowers students to see themselves not as passive learners, but as active problem-solvers,” he stated.
Mbah is not the first to hold this belief, with many scholars and experts critiquing the approach and implemention of the country’s educational system.
