The Federal Government has approved N6bn for the rehabilitation of technical colleges, News Agency of Nigeria reports quoted the supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, as saying.
Wike disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of the two-day Africa Regional Forum on Advancing Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
The minister said, “To further support the development of TVET, the National Vocational Qualifications Framework has been approved by the Federal Executive Council.
“National Occupations Standards are being developed in a number of industrial areas including manufacturing, construction, ICT, hotel and hospitality and Agriculture.’’
He said government was aware of the importance of education, especially human capital development, to the long-term development of the country.
He also said education was a critical component in achieving the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.
He said, “In order to ensure the actualization of the education component of the Transformation Agenda, we developed the four-year Strategic Plan for the Development of the Education Sector: 2011-2015.
“In recognition of the importance of TVET to skills development, it is one of the critical parts of the Strategic Plan.
“The others are strengthening the Institutional Management of Education, Access and Equity; Standard & Quality Assurance; Teacher Education & Development; and Funding, Partnerships, Resource Mobilization and Utilization.’’
According to him, the conference is coming at a time when government is making efforts aimed at repositioning the country’s economy through human capital development.
“In addressing skills development through TVET, we must recognize the importance of continuously gathering and sharing ideas so as to enhance success. Without the necessary manpower, we shall fall victim of a situation where organizations seek manpower outside of our shores simply because we have not developed our local human resources. This will then continue to leave us with the problem of unemployment and economic stagnation,’’ he said.
