In the past, the successful completion of a degree programme in a university, diploma from a polytechnic or a certificate from any tertiary educational institution was a ticket to a job placement in Nigeria.

Today, the story is different as a higher education and certification of any kind, though still important, cannot guarantee the anyone, any job. The emphasis is no longer on the certificate one holds but what one can do with ones hands.

This has resulted in the introduction of vocational skills and entrepreneurial development into the secondary school curriculum.

Both the educated and uneducated people are going after skills acquisition because it is the only viable option left in the quest by people to survive and earn a decent living.

Parents, governments and even other stakeholders in the education sector seemed to be prioritizing skills and entrepreneurial development.

In the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT), manager of secondary schools are making entrepreneurial studies and skills acquisition an integral part of the school’s curriculum.

This is to ensure that upon graduation from these institutions, the students have the necessary skills that would help them not only to get jobs but to even create jobs for others.

Entrepreneurship programme

Indeed, the Federal Capital Territory Administration ( FCTA) has scaled up its drive for students entrepreneurship development in secondary schools across it’s six Area Councils. Director.

FCT Secondary Education Board, Dr. Mohammed Ladan disclosed this during the just concluded 4th edition of the FCT-SEB Students Trade and Entrepreneurship Exhibition, Competition and Award Programme, organized in collaboration with the FCTA Department of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement.

Ladan noted that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike had expressed interest in empowering secondary schools within the territory, to acquire relevant entrepreneurial skills that will make students self reliant.

He stated that the hunt for young minds with entrepreneurial ability at the secondary school level has become an annual event that will be sustained.

Ladan disclosed that the students drawn from 88 secondary schools across the territory, were groomed and mentored to produce various goods that can be further improved on to contribute to the country’s GDP.

“This competition involves all the 88 schools that belong to the Secondary Education Board. All of them participated. We did the zonal elimination, we did the area council elimination, and we are now at the Grand Finale.

“Out of the 12 schools that participated in the finals, five will emerge as the winners. The five schools that will emerge as winners, ”Ladan said.

Inter-agency collaboration

Inside Abuja learnt that while the Secondary Education Board (SEB) is championing this initiative, some other departments and agencies have also keyed behind to make the efforts fruitful.

One of the departments in FCTA that has taken the issue of students’ entrepreneurial skills development seriously, is the Department of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement. (RCSI) Acting Director of RCSI, Dr. Jumai Ahmadu said that developing entrepreneurship at secondary school level requires collaboration.

Ahmadu, who spoke through the Assistant Director in the Department, Kate Allison noted that this collaboration is a good initiative that will help promote entrepreneurship in the FCT Schools curriculum.

“The aim of this project is to showcase some of the achievements that our students have been able to make in the field of entrepreneurship in the course of the year.

So we’ve been doing this, it’s a yearly program, and this is the fourth edition”, he said. The three-day intensive competition saw twelve (12) secondary schools to the finals, as five of the twelve were picked for award and recognition.

Among the schools recognized were Government Secondary School, Airport Road which came fifth with fifty seven percent; Government Secondary School Orozo, came fourth with fifty eight percent; the third position with 64 percent went to Government Girls Secondary School, Dutse Alhaji; while Government Secondary School, Gwagwalada with 84 percent clinched 2nd position.

The Government Secondary School Kuduru, Bwari got 90 per cent to emerge the overall winner.

Students’ voices

Some of the students who represented their schools in the entrepreneurship competition and trade exhibition expressed delight that their little efforts have attracted attention.

Many of them also expressed interest in taking up courses that will deepen their understanding and grasp of entrepreneurship when they get into the university.

Miss Okehe Esther of Government Secondary School, Zuba, was proud showcasing the products she and other students produced at the fair. She displayed bags and clothes which she said the students made from waste materials.

“We want to make something out of nothing. For example these bags were made from waste foams and materials. We have learnt this for two months. “Just like my fellow students, I want to go to the University to learn fashion designing,” Esther said.

Another student, Miss Lohpon Chalya from Government Secondary School, Bwari, was highly elated that her school have been pronounced the winner of the competition.

Chalya said the biogas plant which gave her school the winning edge, was an innovation which the students gave their best, with the technical support of their teachers.

According to the girl, all her mates desire to gain further training that will make them great scientists.

Vox populi

A law graduate, Chinasa Ogbonna who is waiting for her call up to the Nigerian Law School, said she had to get enrolled in a fashion and design shop, to acquire some skills that may help her tomorrow.

The lady who has completed her one year compulsory national service ( NYSC) noted that she needed no persuasions to agree that skills are very important.

“After my NYSC, I just realised the need to get some skills, before going for my Law School programme. “From the look of things, after my Law School, I may not waste my precious time searching for non-existent jobs.

I may not also bother going into law practice. I want to venture into some profitable enterprise. “Fashion enterprise is one area I believe can never be saturated. So long as you are creative and productive, there will be a market for you, even at the global stage,” she said.

Another respondent, Treasure Chinecherem, said that he is waiting for admission to go to the University, but decided to acquire some skills that can put money into his pocket when he gets to school.

Chinecherem noted that while waiting for admission into the university, he has chosen to acquire skills in phone repairs. “I have written JAMB and gotten the cut off mark required for the course I want to study, but I had to go and learn how to repair phones.

“Phone repairing and general technological skills are some of the new areas that one needs to explore in this digital age. That is why I chose to go into it before going to the university,” he said.