SMEDAN, Ekiti partner to train 60 teachers

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has commenced a three-day training programme on entrepreneurship for 60 primary and secondary school teachers in Ekiti state.

Declaring the programme open in Ado-Ekiti, SMEDAN Director-General, Dr. Dikko Radda, described entrepreneurship education as one of the opportunities to proffer solution to unemployment in the country.

Radda, represented by the South East Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Gbenga Ogundeji, said the programme tagged: “SMEDAN school entrepreneurship: Training the trainers” was organised with a view to inculcating business culture in the youth.

“There is much anxiety and uncertainty among Nigerian students about their future, therefore, the need to inculcate business culture into the younger ones cannot be overemphasised.

“The World Bank recently predicted that there would be additional injection of 40 million people joining the economic active group by 2040 in Sub-Sahara Africa.

“Given the most promising economic performance within the region, there is no way regular employment will cope with the size of population influx.

“The imperative is that young people must be supported with education and training that promotes employment generation and wealth creation.

“The era of brilliant curriculum vitae is over; this is the era of crafting a bankable business plan that will launch the students into being their own bosses where they can make use of their hands and their brains,” the SMEDAN boss said.

Governor Kayode Fayemi, on his part, said entrepreneurship education would open up employment opportunities.

Represented by the state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Foluso Daramola, the governor reiterated the commitment of his administration to education and human capacity development.

“Apparently, the rate of youth unemployment is increasing on a daily basis leading to social vices of various kinds while white collar jobs are no longer available,” he said.

The governor called on the participants to make the best use of the opportunity provided by the programme and admonished the participants to go back to their various schools to impart whatever knowledge they have learnt on their pupils and students.