The Acting Vice Chancellor, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Prof. Okechukwu Onuchukwu has decried the growing spate of negligence of graduate researches across universities, an act that has impeded on innovations in the nation’s overall economy.
Onuchukwu disclosed this while declaring open the 5th Annual Conference of the Faculty of Vocational and Technical Education,(IAUE), with the theme, “Innovations in Vocational and Technical Education for Optimal Productivity and Sustainability in the COVID-19 Era In Nigeria, held at the University’s Post Graduate Hall, Main Campus, Port Harcourt, Thursday.
Onuchukwu noted that innovation was the brainchild of research explaining that result findings in researches serve as the key to unlock the bottlenecks and or obsoleteness in a given field and further create new ideas in the same.
The Economics expert maintained that a knowledge-based economy was such that emphasizes transformation of things for a better life regretting however that the Nigerian nation and by extension its institutions play levity to research thereby grounding the growth and development of the nation’s economy.
Onuchukwu said “I want to say that there is no innovation that can be without research. In knowledge- based economy, we are putting more emphasise on how the human factor of production can transform things for a better life”.
“Most countries are going higher and higher not because God Loves them more than us but because they are devoting their time to research. As they carryout research whatever results they get, they practice it. That is what happens in advance countries but in our case, if you go to our libraries, you see undergraduate projects, Masters degree and even PhD Projects Packed one side-What are the outcome of these?. When are we going to start using what we generate? Unfortunately, sometimes people come from out side and steal these ideas and then the things that are produced out of them are sent to us here for consumption’’, he said.
The Vice Chancellor stressed the need for the forefront practice of a triple chain research interaction with the universities and polytechnics research centres engaging in research work with results, the industries funding the results and the government regulating these results.
“ When you see this interaction working perfectly, then whatever we find out will be contributing to our development but a situation where we just do mere academic exercise, do research, get the results and at the end of the day put them in the bookshelves means, that we are going nowhere’’, Ontchukwu stated.
On his part, the key note speaker, Prof. Edmund Okpara Anaele of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (UNN) said Nigeria has overgrown “Basic Scientific knowledge in terms of technology and advocated an Innovative-driven consciousness for an improved contemporary society.
Anaele who explained innovation as a substantial change in the way Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was practiced in an economy, society and environment, averred that education was one the most innovative sectors of the society.
According to him,’’ education is one of the most Innovative sectors of society, especially for Innovation in knowledge and methods, and to remain relevant in the world of learning, innovative was needful.
Anaele challenged Nigerian institutions to give opportunities to faculties and students to prove their intellects and abilities in creating new ideas and practicing them in and out side the learning environment.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu