April 01, (THEWILL) – The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Topfaith University, Dr. Emmanuel Abraham, has emphasised the importance of integrating entrepreneurial skills into the curriculum of tertiary institutions in Nigeria and the world over to enable students to detect business opportunities and be self-reliant.
Dr Abraham, an Economist and Educationist, stated this at the weekend while speaking with newsmen at the university campus in Mkpatak, Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
According to him, the curriculum of Topfaith University is predicated on skill acquisition, entrepreneurship and sound moral values to prepare students to compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world.
He noted that the University is an offshoot of Topfaith schools, comprising Nursery/Primary, Secondary and now the University, which started about two years ago.
Abraham, while conducting Journalists round the facilities at the university campus, disclosed that the institution remains his personal vision to establish a university that will prepare graduates differently to meet emerging trends in education worldwide.
Facilities in the institution inspected include a standard library in a serene environment, law faculty, well-equipped civil, mechanical, and electrical mechatronics engineering workshops, computer science, mass communication studios and science laboratories among others.
Other skill development centres include standard carpentry workshops, bakery, and electrical shops where undergraduates are trained on wiring and electrical installations.
Dr. Abraham explained that the entrepreneurial skills impacted on undergraduates of the institution are different from the ones obtained in other public universities with emphasis on the mindset and ability to detect business opportunities by students.
“Our University is unique in this aspect. Again, we pay much attention to moral values in addition to entrepreneurship to avoid educating people with nuisance value to the society,” he said.
He attributed moral decadence in society to half-baked graduates who were busy getting degrees while moral values fell abysmally.
Speaking, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Ebeowo, said the institution will remain a centre of attraction in the South-South in education with the infrastructure and academic manpower on ground.
Ebeowo recalled that Topfaith University had commenced the task of ending education tourism abroad as he was deployed from Kenya back to Nigeria to serve as Vice Chancellor of the institution.
“We got our licence and approval from the Federal Executive Council in 2021. We got our licence in April 2021, from the National Universities Commission (NUC).
“In fact, we did not waste any time. Some people said we should have waited for a while before we commenced academic activities. We did not,” he said.
Ebeowo disclosed that Topfaith University started with 177 students from JAMB, now increased to over 500 undergraduates, offering different courses in five faculties and 24 departments of studies.
“We are very hopeful that by the next two or three years, we will do Medicine and Surgery properly. I want this group to know that it is not one of those private universities.
“This is a little bit different, that is why I am here. On Sunday, we have a programme for all students. We call it Leadership and Moral Education to make them think of what to do when they graduate to contribute to the growth of our society.
“It is not just an institution where we give certificates to students after four to five years of coursework. We prioritise character very much. We are looking to see what we can do to add to our society. Our first graduation should be coming up next year,” he said.
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