To address the ever increasing unemployment rate in the country, the Federal Government has been urged to develop a National Skill Policy to enhance Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) as an alternative source of empowerment for the Nigerian populace.
The Founder of Toddlers Haven Educational Foundation, Dr Bukola Dosunmu made the call at a Public Advocacy and Awareness Lecture on Technical and Vocational Education Training(TVET) aimed at sensitizing the people at the grassroots on the significance of additional skills (handwork) to meet current economic realities in Abuja.
The forum officially launched a vocational / Technical center for the indigenous people tagged “THEF – ABWANTNU ” which means handwork in Gbaggi, in Gwagwalada Area Council.
Speaking on the theme,” Building a mindset for a sustainable TVET in Nigeria, Dr Dosunmu called on the National Education Development Council to develop a frame work that would promote TVET and make provision for an incentive for outstanding students to make it more attractive to the teeming youths.
Dr Dosunmu, who expressed concern over lack of a National Skill Policy in the country, however, said that the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) was doing a lot in that direction, but needed to do more particularly in the area of funding and investing in the sector like the nation of China.
“The Federal Government needs to do more in the area of funding technical and vocational education training. Government needs to also do more in supporting NBTE to ensure that Nigeria has a National Skills Policy.There is no National Skill Policy for Nigeria and we know that NBTE is doing a lot with government regarding this.If we have a skills policy, it is going to dictate and flow down to every sector that has one thing or the other to do.” Dosunmu Explained.
The renowned TVET Advocator, therefore called on the government to provide an enabling environment to support organisations, the private sector and employers of labour to make the country vocationally inclined.
” The foundation has existed for 19 years… today being my birthday I thought this is one of the best days that we can bring people together to be part of this conversation. The general perception of the society towards vocational education needs to change …a policy framework from above is going to determine whatever the country can achieve in this direction… So, we have to get to the roots of the policies to see how it will be able to impact on every programme that we are doing in the educational system in Nigeria.”
Contributing, the Executive Secretary of NBTE, Professor Idris Bugaje who hinted that the National Skill Qualification Frame work (NSQF) was approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2012 and launched in 2017, noted that the next generation needed education and skills development that would go beyond increasing basic literacy rates.
Represented by Mrs Hajara Abdulkadir of the NBTE office in Kaduna, Prof Bugaje
said skills development would promote dynamic multifaceted knowledge in higher and tertiary levels of education as well as empower many graduates to be self reliant and industrious.
” There is a need to change our approaches, attitudes and priorities concerning TVET. We must nurture a highly educated and skilled population that can imbibe technology and build infrastructure that is indispensable to wage effective war against mass unemployment.”
Vice Chancellor, University of Abuja, Prof. Abdul-Rashid Na’Allah, represented by Dr Matthew Dada who expressed concern that Nigeria has only 21 technical schools, urged the Federal Government to increase investment on Technical and vocational education by establishing more Technical Colleges and institutes across the country.
He identified wrong Perception and Poor Public Participation as factors militating against the growth of technical and vocational skills in Nigeria.
The Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Foundation, Barrister Helen Onoja, called on students to leverage on such initiative in their domains as an added advantage, adding that she may probably not have being a lawyer if she had such opportunity during her youthful days.