By Florence Israel, Abuja
The participants at the maiden edition of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Youth Summit have urged the heads of governments of the 57-member countries of the Bank to work towards reviewing and enhancing their educational curricula at all levels.
The Summit, which was held alongside the 42nd Annual Meeting of the IsDB in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, advised that the curricula should be revised in view of giving special attention to technical and vocational education in order to endow the youths with the required skills for gainful employments and also equip them to be able to take advantage and also to create more economic opportunities.
In a communique released after the summit, they argued the urgency and necessity of their call.
“There is a mismatch between what is being taught in academia and what the market requires in terms of vocational skills. In addition, advances in digital technology are not fully integrated into education systems, which leave youth behind the curve in terms of preparing for the future.”
They argued that the need for aligning education curricula with market requirements could lead to more employment opportunities and turn the youth into innovators who could use knowledge, skills and technology to become entrepreneurs and create jobs and wealth for themselves and others.
They further lamented that the lack of basic, affordable, inclusive and high quality education and decent employment in IsDB member countries ultimately disconnect young people from economic opportunities, leading to poverty and its negative social effects.
“Our countries are weak in terms of global competitiveness, lag behind in science and technology, and are chronically suffering from abject poverty and political crises. The effects of these issues are felt more acutely by young people who are more vulnerable than other segments of society,” they said.
The youth called for the establishment of IsDB Youth Community to serve as a forum for continuous communication, interactions and exchange of ideas, sharing of expertise and building solidarity among youths in the IsDB member countries.
They said “the Bank can facilitate the exchange of know-how and experience from countries with successful models to other member countries.
“This community can also serve the purpose of connecting the youth with mentors, donors, venture capitalists and provide training opportunities to further enhance youth capabilities,” they reiterated.
Nigeria explained that the country has integrated Entrepreneurship Studies in most of its tertiary institutions, the Federal and State Governments have established hundreds of specialized Vocational and Technical Secondary Schools, the country has scores of Polytechnics and Monotechnics the curricula of which were geared to train students in various trades and vocations, while the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) launched by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari contains a section on the training and equipping youth with vocational and entrepreneurship skills.
In addition, the Federal Ministry of Finance through its YouWinConnect programme has launched Enterprise Education outreach in newspapers which it plans to take to the Internet, radio and television stations for wider reach. The outreach is aimed at imparting basic business management skills for running existing and start-up enterprises profitably and narrating the experiences of successful entrepreneurs to inspire enterprising youth in the country.
