Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board registrar, Ishaq Oloyede has said that University education is not meant for everyone.
According to him, there are other things to do better than going to the university.
He spoke during a debate on relevance of university education, which was the focus of the latest episode of Funmi Iyanda’s ‘Public Eye’.
Asked if university education is compulsory, Oloyede said: “Should all of us go to the university? The answer to me is no. These children will go to the university and end up not benefiting from university education but they could do some other things, they could be better not going to the university.
“The system itself needs to be addressed. In UK today, if one is a plumber, he could earn as much as somebody who is a professor if not more. He is fulfilled, he doesn’t need to be what he’s not because the system allows him to grow within his own path.”
Also speaking, the CEO of Bennie Technologies, Jerry Mallo shared the story of how he became an inventor without a university degree.
According to him, he dropped out of university in the UK after being sponsored by a Nigerian professor and then going on to become a successful inventor.
“I endured to finish my first year in university with a very poor grade. It was very bad for me, I spent the night time crying. After a year, I just felt the classroom was not for me.
“I thought to myself, if you’re looking to start a company, no one asks you for a certificate. It’s only when you want a job that they ask for a certificate. I never wanted a job. I wanted to create jobs.
“I asked myself, I spent a lot of hours trying to learn the theoretical aspect and still failed. What would happen if I spent those hours on the things I’m good at? So I picked that as a challenge,” he said.
Tayo Osunkoya, a professional diver, explained how he abandoned stockbroking to become a diver. He explained that he did not derive fulfillment from his job in the corporate world.
“I was not gaining any satisfaction from what I was doing. So, in 1999, I decided to do something special. I didn’t know any divers and there was no diving school in Nigeria. But I knew this was something I wanted to do,” Osunkoya added.