Parents and guardians in Taraba State have welcomed the introduction of entrepreneurship programme in secondary schools.
Some of the parents interviewed by North East Trust said the programme will help to make secondary school students learn various skills which will make them self-reliant.
One of the parents, Mallam Yakubu Abubakar, said many youths stay idle after their secondary school especially those that are unable to proceed for further studies.
He said if secondary school students are taught entrepreneurship, it will reduce joblessness among school drop -outs.
Yakubu explained that many parents have engaged their children in learning skills like tailoring, shoe-making and carpentry, adding that such youths are earning good fortunes.
He said children that were introduced to skill acquisition tended to be business-oriented as they grow with many of them paying for their school fees and other needs.
“We have many students in secondary and tertiary institutions sponsoring themselves from what they are earning from the trade and business they engaged themselves,” he said.
The programme, according North East Trust finding, was introduced by Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN). The agency has already trained 100 secondary school teachers in the state who would train their students for the initial take-off of the programme.
Director General and Chief Exevcutive Officer of SMEDAN, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, said the introduction of entrepreneurship in secondary schools was aimed at teaching students skills which will make them business-oriented and earn income without waiting for white collar jobs.
He attributed the alarming increase in crime, banditry, and restiveness in the country to the high rate of unemployment among youths.
“Under our educational system, certificates and degrees only prepare students to be jobseekers and not job creators,” he said.
He added that the rate of unemployment will continue to rise in the country if emphasis on entrepreneurship is not made part of the school curricular.
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