The Acting Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Chris Maiyaki has disclosed that the new Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) would address skills gap and make Nigerian graduates employable.

Maiyaki noted that the new CCMAS is premised on the understanding that the university system is the bedrock of intellectual and socio-economic progress of any nation.

He spoke at the 2023 International Summer School and Conference of the African Centre for Career Enhancement and Skills Support (ACCESS).
Maiyaki also stated that the commission has made entrepreneurship study compulsory for students in the nation’s universities, in addition to curriculum re-engineering and collaboration with industry to enhance employability of Nigerian graduates.

While speaking further at the conference, themed: ‘Cultivating new frontiers in employability research for skills and career enhancement, Maiyaki said graduates must be fully equipped to face the challenges of a dynamic and interconnected world, constantly advancing in technology.

He said the improvement and update of educational programmes constituted a continuum that must align with the realities of global best practices.

He said: ”Entrepreneurship has now become part of our educational experience. This is because in the face of unrelenting unemployment and disconnect between theoretical and practical knowledge, it is the responsibility of NUC to begin to convene meetings of this nature to highlight issues surrounding employability.

”We hope that international platforms of this nature with all the experts and academics will deepen knowledge surrounding the issues of employability so that we are well informed,” he said.

Maiyaki also pledged that the conference would harness some of the topical issues, best practices and emerging trends worldwide, while formulating implementation machinery with concrete implementable actions to drive graduates’ employability.