The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) is focusing on university students to grow the country's small pool of actuaries, currently at just 28 for a population of 240 million. Mufutau Olasunkunmi, head of the Directorate of Audit Practice Standards at the FRC, made the appeal at the Department of Insurance and Actuarial Science's departmental day at Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), Ikorodu. He described the actuarial profession as "the most endangered" in Nigeria, noting that job postings often attract no local applicants, forcing reliance on experts from Kenya, South Africa and the United Kingdom. To reverse the trend, the FRC has introduced a refund scheme for students who pass any stage of the actuarial certification exams. "Write the examination. If you pass today, FRC will give you your money. As of this year, we are paying for about 17 students," Olasunkunmi said. The Council is also planning virtual mentorship links between Nigerian students and experienced actuaries in India, alongside scholarships for top performers. It is supporting universities by training lecturers to strengthen local teaching capacity. Actuarial science, which combines mathematics, statistics, economics and risk theory, is critical in insurance, pensions and financial planning. Olasunkunmi highlighted the profession's high earning potential, saying a week's pay for an actuary could exceed decades of earnings in other fields. Kudirat Adeola Banjo, Head of Department at LASUSTECH, said the event's theme, "Risk Quantification and Insurance Mechanism: Bridging Theory and Practice," reflects the need to connect academic training with real-world application. She urged students to build technical skills alongside integrity and adaptability.
The FRC highlights a critical shortage of actuaries while revealing only 17 students are currently benefiting from its exam refund scheme. With just 28 certified actuaries nationwide, the scale of intervention appears mismatched to the size of the crisis. The push for student uptake through limited refunds and foreign mentorship does not address the systemic underdevelopment of the profession in Nigerian institutions. If training and incentives remain small-scale, the gap will persist despite the rhetoric.
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