By TVET NEWS MONITOR
The National Commission for Colleges of Education has identified several limitations in the current NCE Agriculture curriculum that have affected graduate employability.
Dr. Umar Adamu Kwami, Director of Academic Planning at the NCCE, made the disclosure in an interview with TVET NEWS MONITOR on the sidelines of the ongoing Agriculture Curricula Review Workshop organised by NBTE in Kaduna.
According to Dr. Kwami, the 2020 Minimum Standards in Agricultural Education placed excessive emphasis on theoretical knowledge with limited opportunities for hands-on experience.
He said the curriculum also had insufficient integration of modern agricultural technologies such as precision farming and digital agriculture, which are now central to industry practice.
Dr. Kwami further noted that there was a weak linkage between the NCE programme and the agricultural value chain, as well as outdated course content that did not reflect current industry standards.
He stated that a skill gap analysis conducted by the Commission revealed discrepancies between the competencies required by industry and those embedded in the NCE curriculum.
Dr. Kwami added that many Colleges of Education are currently operating with outdated or inadequate equipment and facilities, which has further constrained practical training.
He also observed that a significant number of lecturers require retraining to strengthen their practical and industry-relevant skills in line with the demands of the revised curriculum.