NBTE stresses skills acquisition among Nigerian youths to end nation's challenges

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The National Board for Technical Education [NBTE] has revealed that ensuring technical skills among Nigerians will prevent the current challenges faced in the country, including insecurity.

This was revealed by the executive secretary of the NBTE while in a quality assurance training sponsored by Tertiary Education Fund TETFUND, the event included lecturers and other academic staff of other tertiary institutions.

The skills acquisition was co-hosted by NBTE and TETFUND.

The tertiary education fund which sponsored the event is a body set by the Federal Government to revive and support the dilapidated state of the education sector in Nigeria.

The NBTE said that Nigerian youths are idle due to a lack of skills acquisition, owning to that it suggested that including skills acquisition in various youth development programs will create job opportunities for various youths and a means of income.

He further added that skills acquisition will greatly reduce the interest of youths in engaging in criminal activities for money.

The Special Assistant of the NBTE secretary Dr. Ibrahim Bashir, said that a fresh university graduate of engineering will require about ten technicians, twenty artisans and four technologists, who are graduates of a polytechnic, to deliver his engineering knowledge.

He then called on the tertiary education fund to make reforms in its funding to polytechnics.

According to him, skills acquisition should be included in polytechnics to reduce unemployment rate as well as the rate of people going abroad for greener pastures.

Reacting to his speech, TETFUND says it will look into all the discussed suggestions and act accordingly.

She called on participants to follow the quality assurance documents (QA), modules, presentations and lessons learned for the benefit of their institutions and the development of the skills sector as a whole.

Dr Aminu Yusuf (President, Skills Development Centre, Federal Polytechnic Kaura Namoda, Zamfara State), who spoke on behalf of participants, praised the programme.

He lamented that the polytechnic’s mandate had been ignored in the past.

In a statement, he said that a country such as Nigeria would benefit immensely from skills acquisition as there are so many idle young people in the country.

“This programme will help develop Nigeria if the younger populace are well trained,” he added.