The Director of Oluponna Fish Farming Education and Resource Centre (OFFERCentre), Reverend Father Macarius Olatunji has said that the structure of education in Nigeria does not encourage the learning of entrepreneurial skills.

Rev. Fr. Olatunji, who made this observation during an interview on “Community Today’, a programme on CEOAfrica Online Television; noted that the structure education is a major challenge to the acquisition of entrepreneurial knowledge.

According to him, “Formal education promotes intellectual knowledge rather than vocational skills. Schools teach people theoretical knowledge, rather than teach people how to use their hands to practice what they are taught.”

“As a result of this gap, the Catholic church established the OFFER Innovative Centre to train youths in agriculture, fisheries, animal husbandry, catering, bead making, radiography and photography, computer literacy and many other enterprises.”

The Director also noted that OFFERCentre is in partnership with several national and international organisations and institutes like; the Department of Agriculture, University of Ibadan; Baraca College of Agriculture, Kenya; Kamotanga Farms, Kenya and many other partners that are committed to empowering youths with the practical skills they require in making a living.

Speaking about the mode of admission into the Institute, the Rev. Fr. stated that candidates who wish to pursue a degree in the institution can apply with an O’Level certificate and should write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Exam (UTME), selecting the OFFERCentre as the third choice of Institution.

He also added that the Institute runs other certificate programmes that last for weeks or months, depending on the choice of the candidate. He noted that since OFFERCenter is in partnership with the University of Ibadan, Department of Agric., there is provision for candidates who wish to earn a University degree in Agriculture to do so by applying for a direct entry admission.

While talking about the challenges faced by the Institute, the Director emphasised that the major challenge faced by OFFERCentre is that of manpower. “The greatest challenge is employing the right hand,” he said.

“Although we receive a lot of applications listing job qualifications but we find ourselves asking, are they proficient enough? Can they handle the jobs well? This is the challenge. However, we have collaborated with several international and local organisations and we are handling that area.”

Rev. Fr. Olatunji further noted that vision of the Institute according to the church is to empower people, particularly indigent youths through skill acquisition irrespective of creed, race, tribe or gender. He added that upon graduation from the institute, students are usually empowered with materials to start up their own business. He noted that the vision is beginning to materialise as graduates of the Institute have begun to impact their immediate environment.

He further called on the government to help develop entrepreneurship in Nigeria. To do this, he urged the government to draw a roadmap and institute long term policies that will ensure the improvement of vocational training.

He also advised that the government should restructure education in such a way that would accommodate the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills.