An educational researcher, Peter Ogudoro, has advocated versatile education as a strategy to prepare undergraduates for diverse career paths and address youth unemployment in Nigeria.

Mr Ogudoro, who is also the leader of the Nigerian Teachers Community, made the call during an interview with in Lagos on Tuesday.

He condemned the “straitjacket” approach, saying Nigeria’s education system should not limit students to specific career paths based solely on performance in particular subjects.

“God did not create us to be restricted to a single path,” Mr Ogudoro said.

He added that students’ diverse talents should be developed.

According to him, an engineer may be musically gifted, just as a medical doctor may excel in writing, filmmaking or other creative areas.

Mr Ogudoro said parents and teachers often push students who excel in science subjects toward careers in engineering, medicine, pharmacy and nursing.

He said academic strength in science subjects should not automatically determine a child’s career path or limit the development of other abilities.

He, however, called for retraining school counsellors as professional career managers to identify and nurture students’ diverse talents.

He also urged parents to understand that children could successfully combine different skills and pursue careers beyond conventional academic pathways.

According to Mr Ogudoro, versatile education will give graduates diverse skills to adapt, pursue other career options and stay employable when jobs in their core field are scarce.

“For instance, if you graduate with a banking/finance degree and there are no banking jobs available, you switch to entrepreneurship skills that can enable you to establish a business,” he said.

He said combining disciplines such as engineering and writing could create alternative opportunities in content creation, communication and other creative industries.

He cited Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie as an example of someone who moved from science-oriented studies to a successful writing career.

According to him, Ms Adichie’s experience demonstrates the importance of allowing young people to discover and develop their natural abilities beyond conventional career expectations.

He therefore called on the Federal Ministry of Education and other education stakeholders to strengthen career management in Nigerian schools.

He said improved career guidance would enable students to maximise emerging opportunities locally and internationally while developing skills that could make them more employable.

(NAN)