FG must revive vocational skill centres… it’s our only hope, says NABTEB registrar

The National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) has called for increased efforts to promote vocational and technical skills in Nigeria. 

On Tuesday, Aminu Muhammed, the NABTEB registrar, visited the Lagos State Technical College in Ikeja.

The NABTEB boss said the “best thing for the country” will be to revive its trade and vocational centres.

Muhammed also appreciated the efforts of Tunji Alausa, the education minister, on the recently relaunched technical and vocational education/training (TVET) initiative.

The registrar said the Lagos government has established a template that other technical colleges should follow.

“There is standard, there is discipline. The Lagos of 20, 30 years ago is not the Lagos of today. Anywhere you go, the environment is neat and clean. People obey traffic rules.

“Everybody minds his business. It is not the Lagos of yesterday. To be in Lagos, you must be prepared to be honest and to obey the rule of law. And I commend the state government, but the template has been set in Lagos.

“Anyone aspiring to be the governor of Lagos State must fit into that template, or the citizens will remove them.

“Well, they are already doing well. All I would advise is to maintain the standard to learn new technology.

“Let me tell you that technical institutions are the only hope for this country. Any country that undermines technical and vocational education is heading for doom. And we didn’t know our problem in Nigeria until COVID.

“COVID exposed Nigeria’s weaknesses, showing that we are not self-sufficient because we cannot produce anything.

“Even what we have, we cannot even maintain. This is a clear indication that no country ignores what we call trade centres, vocational centres, and technical colleges. However, in Nigeria, we are only discussing technical colleges today.

“The best thing the government can do for us in this country is to revive the trade centres and the vocational centres.

“Because in any economy, the major drivers of any economy are the artisans, craftsmen, and technicians. But where are they? The majority of people working in industry, as artisans today, many of them are not trained to do so.”

Muhammed said the federal government must emphasise the technical skills of graduates instead of focusing on certificate qualifications.

“In Nigeria today, for you to get employment, they will say you need to have a PhD, you want a professor, you want somebody with a master’s. No. In developed countries, nobody cares about your paper qualification,” he added.