Halt paper qualification in recruitment

In this era, certificate should not be recognised but, mastery of concepts and ability to apply same should be the measure of competence rather than qualification. Therefore, dependence on paper qualification and neglect of skills is largely responsible for the myriad problems of certificate racketeering, exams malpractices, fake results, fraudulent – foreign certificate, (K’asaru degree […]

In this era, certificate should not be recognised but, mastery of concepts and ability to apply same should be the measure of competence rather than qualification. Therefore, dependence on paper qualification and neglect of skills is largely responsible for the myriad problems of certificate racketeering, exams malpractices, fake results, fraudulent – foreign certificate, (K’asaru degree / masters) corruption, nepotism, favouritism in public job placements, youth unemployment etc. Most developed countries are re-emphasising on skills than paper qualification. That is why Nigerian graduates are not only unemployed but unemployable as their skills are largely divorced from labour requirements.

The Nigerian schools fail to teach students how to learn. They only teach students what to learn, and by so doing, students fail to effectively learn, and that’s why most of them forget what they have been taught. Therefore the 21st century illiterate person is not one who cannot read and write but the one who cannot learn and relearn.

In Nigerian context, therefore, when we want to get employment, everyone will compete for paper qualification instead of skills and comprehension, and without skills, people will have to keep waiting for the diminishing white collar jobs and more graduates are being produced yearly. That is why the unemployment bomb has been tickling in every year.

Our civil service should be reformed by adopting skills in the process of recruitment, if we want Nigerian graduates to be marketable in the global economy. Also, our system of education should be reformed, in the sense that educational institutions should design skills in their curriculum in order to respond to the ever changes facing the world.

Bello Shehu Shuni [email protected]