Unizik VC, Charles Esimone Bags ABEN Fellowship Award

The vice chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Charles Esimon was yesterday honoured with Association of Business Educators of Nigeria, ABEN, Fellowship Award.

The award was bestowed on Esimone during the 32nd annual national conference of Association of Business educators of nigeria, ABEN held in Awka the Anambra state capital.

The five day event was organized to offer opportunity for the Association members to brainstorm on how best to produce graduates that will be self reliant and industrious while contributing to the development of the nation.

Speaking at the event, the Deputy Vice Chancellor , University of Uyo, Professor, Usoro said that business educators across the country are challenged to strive to meet up with the demand for skill acquisition and development objectives which often time is lacking in present day graduates.

Association of Business Educators of Nigeria, ABEN is a professional organization committed to the promotion and advancement of business education in the country.

With the motto: Business Education, Our Business, the association was inaugurated in 1984 with the aim to create, foster and assist subsidiary chapters composed of persons of acceptable professional standing in the country.

ABEN also aims to serve as a unifying force between institutions and business communities in the country as well as promote business education through curriculum development withing the framework of education organisation.

Presenting the key note address , the deputy vice chancellor, University of Uyo, Professor Enoidem Usoro, said in order to support government’s effort in boosting skills acquisition among youths, ABEN should endeavour to set up a committee to work out modalities for collaboration with relevant agencies of the federal ministry of education with a view to setting up acceptable standards for the operation of vocational enterprise institutions that train school leavers in related business traders for self reliance.

Professor Usoro noted that for Nigeria to be economically self reliant and grapple with the socio economic challenges posed by the novel covid19 pandemic , government must diversify the economy and encourage the youths to embrace self employment through skills acquisition and financial empowerment.

While encouraging business educators and students to be more practical using the hands on learning approach, Professor Usoro decried the paucity of instructional facilities as skilled based programme requires equipment , machines, and tools to achieve its desired goal.

“There is lack of or inadequate instructional equipment and laboratory tools resulting in many graduates of business education roaming the street with their certificates looking for white collar job for obvious failure to acquire sufficient and entrepreneurial skills to establish businesses of their own”

In a welcome address, the National President of ABEN Professor Chika Ile said the annual conference was aimed at providing desirable platforms for experts to converge and rub minds on critical issues bothering on business education curriculum and practices, business and entrepreneurship skills with a view to proffering solutions.

According to him, the issues are ignited by changes in technology, the environment, the workplace, work demands, and the dynamism of the society.

“Business education programme need to be properly organised and managed so that it can fulfill its mandate of ensuring that students are properly guided through carefully planned experiences that will offer them the opportunity to master knowledge, skills and attitudes needed not only to succeed in business but also have equal opportunity to succeed in life”.

In a paper presentation , Professor Christian Udoma from Ebonyi State University, urged business educators to ensure adequate preparations and quality instruction to enable students acquire requisite skills and attitude that would help them have competitive advantage over their peers.

He called for review of business education programme to meet with the challenges and realities on ground, noting that there can never be any effective teacher without good curriculum.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Charles Esimone, while declaring the conference open, described the theme as very apt, emphasising the need to impact skills on business education students to enable them become self independent and contribute to the overall development of the nation .

Professor Esimone, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic, Prof. Frederick Odibo, disclosed that his administration was already building an edifice for the vocational education in the university, while reassuring to partner the union to achieve its set objectives .

In a remark, the chairman Local Organising Committee, Professor Comfort Okolocha, urged participants to use the opportunity of the conference to develop framework for efficient content delivery.

The five day event offered opportunity for the members to brainstorm on how best to produce graduates that will be self reliant and industrious while contributing to the development of the nation.