Cephas Iorhemen 
Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has commended the World Bank and the Federal Ministry of Education (FMoE) for providing the requisite support towards child education in the state.
Speaking at the Implementation Support Mission Meeting of the Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS), the governor identified the high rate of unemployment as one of the major challenges plaguing the development of the state. Alia said the malady is partly predicated on the nature and scope of the educational curriculum which fails to address the needs of students in a world outside the school system.
The governor said without skills and talent it would be difficult to be self- employed. He said the youth can easily fall prey to the temptations and vices that surround them, adding that instead of being useful assets to the development efforts of the state, many young men and women have become clogs in the wheels of progress of the state.
He noted that as a government, he has recognized that re-engineering the skills development ecosystem is essential to meeting critical market needs and the need to prepare the youth for tomorrow to meet the growing challenge of the digital economy in future.
