Business
Board Makes Entrepreneurship Education Compulsory In Schools
In an effort to tackle unemployment in the country, the Federal Government has made entrepreneurship education a compulsory subject for students in secondary schools, an official said.
The Director, FCT Secondary Education Board, Mrs Yelwa Baba-Ari, said this last Wednesday at a one-day career workshop organised for students in FCT by Junior Achievement Nigeria.
Baba-Ari, who chaired the workshop with the theme: “Building your tomorrow today’’, said the decision to make entrepreneurship education compulsory in schools was informed by the need to be consistent with the National Policy on Education.
“The youth have to be empowered; you have to empower yourselves; you have to be self-employers; you do not have to wait for somebody to employ you; instead of waiting to be employed, you should create employment even right from your home.
“And if you are a medical doctor, an engineer, a lawyer – you are not going to wait for government to employ you.
“That is why whatever course you are taking; whatever programme you are undergoing – you have to know how to survive; how to make a living out of what you have done; and that is what we call achievement at the end of the day.”
Baba-Ari said it was an added advantage for professionals to possess other skills they could take advantage of to make a living.
“It is time for you to determine where you will be in the next five years; so determine where you will be from today.”
The director, who said Nigeria was a land of opportunities blessed with human and natural resources, urged Nigerians to harness the abundant opportunities around them to make a living.
She called on government and non-governmental organisations to continue to assist youths by empowering them.
Baba-Ari urged the organisers of the programme to continue to imbibe the entrepreneurship culture for self- development.
Also speaking, Mrs Kunbi Wuraola, the Executive Director of Junior Achievement, told the youth to make a difference in their generation.
She said no country in the world had the potential, characteristics and resilience that Nigerians possessed.
“We need to create tomorrow today and the only way we can create that is by keeping our selves busy; by going entrepreneurial; by looking at our immediate environment and coming up with ideas of what we can produce and sell because your generation is the generation we are looking up to for change in the country; so make that move.”
Ogbe Winifred, a student of Government Girls Science Secondary School, Kuje, FCT, who spoke on behalf of the other students, said the workshop had taught her a lot on how to focus on achieving a successful future.
According to her, the workshop has exposed her to the proper way of arriving at decisions that would make a better tomorrow.
Our correspondent reports that some of the schools present at the workshop were Model Secondary School, Maitama and Government Secondary School, Gwarimpa.
Highpoint of the workshop was the launch of a book entitled: “My Career and Decision”.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.