CLEARLY, technical education in Nigeria has declined over the last three decades partly because it is tagged as inferior. This has impacted negatively on polytechnic education, a higher notch of technical education, which even with the Higher National Diploma (HND), though considered as a mere equivalent of a first degree, is seen as inferior in Nigeria’s public service.
The disinterest in technical education is further demonstrated in the current poor enrolment of students in the nation’s polytechnics and Colleges of Education. Public perception of the certificates offered by these institutions, especially polytechnics, is one of rejection, insolence and mockery, which explains why the mass shift to university education is stronger than ever. There’s hardly a parent that would encourage his or her child to pursue a course in technical or technological education.
All things being equal, the wrong perceptions and biases against the system will soon be kicked out because of the Federal Government’s plan to revamp technical education on account of its critical role in national development. Just recently, the Executive Secretary of the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE), Professor Idris Bugaje, announced the Federal Government’s plan to pay a stipend of N45,000 monthly to each of the students enrolled in the technical colleges as part of the revival agenda.
The chief executive officer of the NBTE, which is responsible for regulating technical education, disclosed in an interview with journalists that the Federal Government has allocated N120bn grant to support students under the scheme, to be administered by the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). Beyond the N45, 000 monthly stipends, Prof Bugaje said the government will also cover teaching fees, pay industry-based supervisors, and finance the cost of skill certification.
Earlier in May, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, had hinted that the Feral Government has upgraded some technical colleges as part of comprehensive reforms aimed at equipping young citizens with globally competitive skills. Under the new scheme, he said, students in the designated technical colleges will spend 80 per cent of their time on hands-on training and 20 per cent in the classroom, which is pure academic work. The scheme is designed to prepare students for real global job market, he added.
We welcome the plan to revive technical education in the country, which at this point in time is indeed strategic. It is an ambitious plan to significantly transform technical education in Nigeria, a system, which had suffered serious decline, raising concerns among Nigerians. For example, the Asagba of Asaba, His Royal Majesty, Prof Epiphany Azinge, during his recent visit to the Technical College, Asaba, raised alarm over the state of affairs at the school, bitter that Asaba children were no longer interested in technical education.
While we applaud the ambitious scheme, which we believe is still being fine-tuned, it is important that the Federal Government commences without delay the sensitization of the public with regard to the programme. The public would want to know the time-line for its take-off; the number of technical colleges that would be involved; the number and type of courses that would be on offer; and qualification for enrolment into the colleges.
While we look forward to the implementation of the strategic plan, the Federal Government should take the necessary steps to avoid the impediments that compromised the technical and vocational education part of the current 6-3-3-4 educational system, which was once deemed as an antidote to deficits in our technical education orientation. Regrettably, virtually all technical equipment imported for the success of the model and the workshops were either abandoned or allowed to waste away.
It is also our plea that state governments should begin to prepare to key into the grand plan to get their students who may not benefit from the federal initiative to take advantage of the state options.
The states should also be able to pay some stipends monthly to motivate their students. We implore parents and guardians to encourage their children to embrace the reformed technical education alternative, which has the capacity to make them employable locally and globally or entrepreneurs; employing others.
