The Nigeria Union of Teachers has commended President Bola Tinubu’s unprecedented intervention in technical and vocational education.
The National President of NUT, Audu Amba, gave the commendation during an interview on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr Amba was reacting to the recent launch of Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa,
The NUT president said that TVET would promote greater opportunities for self-reliance and entrepreneurship, improve productivity and economic growth, social and personal development.
He said it’s high time employers of labour stopped relying on paper qualification but skills and knowledge of the prospective employee.
He noted, “I think it is high time we began to shift from using paper qualification for recruitment in our system. We should be able to look at what that person is able to do. We should be looking at creativeness, entrepreneurship and self-independence. Let people be trained in how they can build on their own and be able to fend for themselves.’’
Mr Amba stressed that people should not attend schools because they want to be recruited by the government, rather they should also acquire additional technical and vocational skills for better opportunities.
He also advised parents to encourage the children to imbibe that culture of creativity and skill acquisition.
He stated, “How many job opportunities can the government provide? With the high number of master’s degree holders roaming the streets, first degree is just like a secondary school certificate today.’’
Mr Tinubu administration initiated a flagship programme of TVET to equip young Nigerians with practical skills for employment and entrepreneurship.
Through partnerships with certified training centres across the country, the initiative offers tuition-free training, monthly stipends, and start-up support for selected trades in high-demand sectors.
The goals are to close Nigeria’s skills gap, empower the youth for self-reliance, create a pipeline of skilled workers for industries and promote national development through vocational excellence.
Launching the programme recently in Abuja, Mr Alausa declared that students in technical colleges, Federal and State, would enjoy free education.
He explained that the package includes free tuition, accommodation, and feeding and a monthly stipend of N22,500 to students in the colleges.
The minister said that the gesture was designed to attract more young people to TVET, incentivise them so they could use the opportunity to acquire relevant skills that would make them useful to society.
(NAN)
