What Nigerian Varsities Must Do To Be Relevant —American don

AN American university don and President, Reinhardt University, Georgia, USA, Prof. Kina Mallard, has said that for private and public universities in Nigeria to be relevant, they must bridge the gap in transforming educational needs of students and the needs of the university workforce. Prof. Millard spoke at the Second distinguished lecture of Edwin Clark University, ECU, Kiagbodo, Delta State. The don suggested that in bridging and transforming the educational needs of students and the workforce, a research-based and thorough review of the educational curriculum, including all core requirements and majors should be implemented. She said: “Institutions must help educators see education as more than simply the transference of knowledge, but also the formation of character and they must teach from the heart. “To actually transform education to the needs of our students, we must change and tackle head-on the question of how to bridge the gap of remaining relevant to the needs of current students and the needs of the current workforce.” “In bridging and transforming the educational needs of students and the workforce, I suggest that a focus on workforce needs without sacrificing foundational courses and the need for faculty to adapt their teaching to meet the way today students learn.”

source: Vanguard