In the effort to revamp vocational education in Nigeria, the federal government has disclosed plans to pay students who enrolled in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges a monthly stipend of N45,000.
Idris Bugaje, the executive secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), made this known during an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, as part of the assessment of the second-year administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Bugaje said the initiative would fast-track the development of technical education and expand student enrollment at the sub-tertiary level.
“With this, young people will find it more attractive to come to a technical college, acquire skills qualifications, get jobs locally and even beyond the borders of Nigeria.
“This way, the whole sector is being repositioned. We are at the moment facing what you may call either a resurrection or a rebirth of TVET,” Bugaje said.
The National Board for Technical Education has been pushing to make skills acquisition 50 percent of school curriculum.
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Bugaje further explained that the stipend is one of several support mechanisms aimed at encouraging more young Nigerians to choose technical education over conventional university degrees.
He emphasised that the technical education sector, which was vibrant during colonial and early post-independence periods, has suffered years of neglect.
“During colonial days and the early part of our independence, TVET had received attention.
“But, since the 1980s, we have been going down the drain. That is why the number of technical colleges has dropped, from 129 at the moment, compared to 15,000 senior secondary schools in Nigeria,” he said.
However, he said that beyond the N45,000 monthly stipend, the federal government would do other things including cover teaching fees for students, and pay industry-based supervisors, known as “master class” instructors, where students undertake industrial attachments.
Others include financing the cost of skill certification for students, and
N120 billion grant for TVET students.
Bugaje further disclosed that the President Tinubu-led administration has approved a N120 billion grant to support the new TVET programme.
According to him the funds will be disbursed through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
“The N45,000 is not a loan, but a grant. Students who enjoy this are not going to pay back.
“We want to encourage more people to enroll in technical education,” he said.
He said to ensure sustainability, the minister of education is spearheading efforts to pass a legislative bill that would establish a National Skills Fund under a new Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
“This was an idea we have been talking about in the past years, but the new minister has taken it up.
“The bill shall soon be presented in the National Assembly to establish the Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework and under it, the National Skills Fund,” he noted.
In addition, he said, “The National Skills Fund will continue to fund TVET institutions, not only those in government colleges, but also those in the private sector.”
