Review

Reshaping engineering education curriculum to accommodate the current needs of Nigeria

E. N. Onwuka

Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria. E-mail: onwukaliz@yahoo.com , onwukaliz@futminna.edu.ng .

Accepted 16 July, 2009

Abstract

It has been observed that most engineering graduates, such as electrical, mechanical, civil, chemical, etc, end up taking employment with banks, accounting outfits and other non-engineering outfits. It has also been lamented by many graduates that they find little or no relationship with what was taught in school and what is obtainable in the job market. Industries who hire fresh graduates almost always have to retrain them before they could be gainfully employed in their various industries. All these phenomena are clear indicators that there is problem in the current engineering education curriculum. This paper looks at a number of areas where engineering education curriculum needs review and the benefits of such review and subsequent upgrade. The paper also discussed the importance of academia-industry-government collaboration in enhancing the quality of engineering education. It suggested the establishment of engineering education discipline in Nigerian Universities to engage in the study of engineering pedagogy best practices. The paper recognizes that fact that all these could be done only by first gaining proper understanding of the situation. It then calls for in-depth review of all aspects of engineering education in Nigeria – a study that should be initiated by COREN and sponsored by the government.

Key words: Engineering education, education review, curriculum review, collaboration, engineering pedagogy.