The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria has lamented shortage of certified Actuarial scientists, expanding awareness to secondary schools for young Nigerians to embrace to study.
FRC visited Babs Fafunwa Millennium Secondary School, Ojodu, Lagos State for the outreach, urging students to consider the study of Actuarial Science in their university education.
According to FRC, this visit was part of the Nigerian Actuarial Development Programme (NADP) Advocacy Outreach.
Harris Oshojah, Assistant Director/Head, Directorate of Actuarial Standards, FRC, speaking during the visit said despite the country’s population, Nigeria Actuarial scientists are still below 30 in number.
‘Presently, we have less than 30 actuaries in Nigeria and we are here to sensitise students on the importance of studying Actuarial Science and the opportunities embedded in the profession,” Oshija said.
According to him, one of the major hindrances in the advancement of the study of Actuarial Science in Nigeria is that many students in the secondary schools are not aware of the course and the potentials it has.
“So, the FRC is carrying out sensitisation campaigns to advise students to go into that area.
“Not just that alone. We also have an agreement with the Nigeria Actuarial Society that we will reimburse every student that passed any level of the professional examinations. Just to ensure that we contribute our own quota to the development of actuaries in Nigeria.
“That is why we are here this afternoon, to let you know that there is a course called Actuarial Science in Nigeria,” he said, adding that “for you to be actuaries you must be very, very good in mathematics.
“Please try as much as possible to take your Mathematics very, very seriously. Do not run away from Mathematics.”
Ismaila Adeleke, Head, Department of Actuarial Science and Insurance, University of Lagos elaborate the importance of the career path, urging the students to consider Actuarial science while making their choice.
Adeleke said that the students would be making key decisions towards the end of their secondary school that would include the choice of studies in the university.
“Many of you are aware of medicine. Many of you are aware of law, engineering courses, nursing and others. But very few students are aware of Actuarial Science.
“So I am here to preach to you and find a way of convincing you to consider Actuarial Science as one of the options for your future studies.”
The professor noted that Actuarial Science simply means bookkeeping though different from bookkeeping in accounting.
“It is a Latin word that means bookkeeping that involves the use of mathematical skills, economic skills and financial skills to address risks. That means taking decisions as to how risks are managed,” he said.
Adeleke described actuaries as the backbone of the economy by helping to protect the funds, the economy and designing means of avoiding risk.
He assured the students that becoming certified actuaries would automatically earn them global recognition.
He said that Actuarial Science is one of the courses that he would advise them to take.
“Actuaries help to cost health care. So, the government can plan with the advice of the actuaries. Actuaries are also useful in the pension industry. They help design different pension schemes.
“Actuaries are also important in business decision making because they are very good with forecasts.
“Actuaries are highly skilled individuals. As secondary school students the requirements that you need to study Actuarial Science are Mathematics, English, Economics and two other subjects.”
Adeleke said that Nigeria needed actuaries but there are very few of them as we speak.
On his part, Olutoto Olufemi Alani, Principal of Babs, urged the students to not just listen with full attention but also act on what they have been told.
He added that the school will be proud in the near future to have produced more Actuarial scientists, despite the shortage and prouder to have boosted the numbers.
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