By Philip Yatai
The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has begun a review of the National Technical Certificate and Advance National Technical Certificate curriculum as part of efforts to reposition technical colleges.
The Executive Secretary of the board, Prof. Idris Bugaje, said at the opening of a workshop in Kaduna on Wednesday, that the goal is to enable the colleges to provide relevant technical skills.
Bugaje explained that the review is under the US$200 million (N87.6 billion) World Bank-supported Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS) project.
He said that the project is designed to enhance the capacity of the Nigerian skills development system to produce relevant skills for the formal and informal sectors.
This, according to him, is “very vital” to the growth of the Nigerian economy.
He said that 39 out of the 123 technical colleges in the country would benefit from the project which would end in the next two and half years.
He added that the 39 colleges were drawn from six states namely, 18 from the states and 21 from the federal government colleges.
The NBTE boss said that the project would equip the technical colleges with needed equipment and improve buildings and other critical infrastructure.
“The teachers will equally be screened and trained to deliver the best technical training in the colleges which in the long run ill re-engineer and reinvent the colleges to provide quality technical training.
“We are expecting that at the end of the project, the technical colleges will be able to deliver better modern skills to Nigerian youths,” he said.
Bugaje explained that the curriculum has not been reviewed in decades, considering that several skills have evolved in line with modern trends and skill demand by industries and the national economy.
“The review of the curriculum is to bring it in line with demands of industries and the national economy.
“We also want the technical colleges to start producing certified skills artisans, welders, fabricators in construction and electrical installation among others.
“This will enable them to move from technical colleges to industries and the country will not be graduating students that will be job seekers,” he added.
He called on the state government to sit up and not allow technical colleges to remain in shambles, where no materials for practical are available with the children rooming about the school doing nothing.
Mr Isah Suleiman, Managing Director, Talent and Skills Management Ltd., described the curriculum review as key to the quest for skills training and development for economic growth.
Suleiman, who lauded the project, urged state governments to key in, adding that his organisation is ready to partner to strengthen skills training and development in the country.
“Skills training of this nature is the way forward. Without adequate skills training our economy will develop and a huge number of youths will remain jobless and compound the security challenges in the country.
“We hope that more of these skills programmes will be taken up by state governments and other stakeholders and set our dear country on the path of sustainable development,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Ibidapo Olabede, Director, Delux Consult, commended the Federal Government and the World Bank for their efforts to reposition technical colleges to meet the skills needs of the country.
Olabede called for additional efforts to scale up the project to the remaining 30 states to reap the benefit of technical colleges. (NAN)
