…As new poly takes off in Lagos

By Mary Obaebor

The founder, Oak Business School (Monotechnic), Dr Lance Musa Elakama, has said a sound technical education is required for national development.

Elakama, a former Deputy Director-General, Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), also noted that the nation’s education system is too theoretical and should be modified to make it more practical.

He stated this while speaking on the take-off of the school in Lagos.

While harping on human capital development, he added that to build the capacity of the country, youths must be properly trained.

“Our students are also trained in various vocational skills to make them versatile, employers of labour and self-reliant after their course, which has been made possible through our entrepreneurship centre. Our aim is to take Nigeria, and upcoming generations to the next level,” he assured.

He said presently, the nation’s education system is too academic, preparing graduates for jobs instead of grooming them to become employers of labour.

To address the trend, Elakama said he decided to invest in technical education to prepare youths as entrepreneurs.

Already licensed by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and accredited by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the Oak Business School is set to commence academic activities for the 2021/2022 academic session in January.

The school has secured accreditation of five courses, namely Marketing, Accountancy, Business Administration, Banking and Finance as well as Computer Science.

The former NSE boss who harped on qualitative education said prospective students would be registered for professional examinations once they are admitted.

Apart from a conducive environment, Elakama said the school is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including a modern laboratory, ICT, e-library, air-conditioned lecture rooms with highly qualified lecturers and hostel facilities to make teaching and learning interesting.

He also assured that adequate security measures have been put in place to safeguard lives and ward off intruders.

Elakama said: “We have competent and qualified lecturers on the ground, we want to give our students practical exposure, opening them up to our businesses and software during internships. We want to groom them as entrepreneurs.”

Vanguard News Nigeria