Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) will permanently transform Nigeria, according to Dr. Mohammed Aminu Mohammed, the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB).
According to him, the Federal Government is working to devalue academic credentials and put more emphasis on what all Nigerians can do to support themselves.
To meet its needs, he said, the country may join the league of China, Singapore, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
After overseeing the ongoing admission exam for over 30,000 students into technical colleges across the country, Mohammed spoke with reporters in Minna.
He took the entrance exam at the Government Technical College, Government Day Science College, and Police Secondary School in Minna, Niger State.
“Because the country is taking a new different dimension, we will try our best to engage major stakeholders to improve and ensure that there will be enough participation in the TVET exercise,” he said.
“We are going to devalue paper qualifications and put more emphasis on what you can do to make a living, which is the direction the nation is currently moving.
“For example, from the 2020 COVID exercise, everybody has come to realize that you must not depend on a white collar job.”
Mohammed underscored the benefits of TVET to the nation.
“TVET is Technical and Vocational Education and Training. This exercise is coming up and encouraging that there is need for more skills People should learn handwork.
“It is about what can you do? What can you contribute to the society? We don’t need to be 100% dependent on government for us to survive.
“Upon graduation, I don’t need to wait for the government to offer me a job. I should be able to establish something on my own to do.
“Every country you go to in the world today, their attention is on TVET. Is it talking about China? Are you talking about Singapore?
“Let me tell you, Singapore is in a desert. Dubai is in a desert. But they are surviving because of the TVET program.
“Then Nigeria, if we encourage TVET, we will enjoy it more better than any other country in the world.”
He said the present gap in Nigeria’s education system is lack of skills for teeming growing number of graduates.
“The gap is that the government should place more emphasis on technical and vocational education because, despite having a PhD, master’s degree, and being a professor, that qualification is a waste because you cannot add value.” However, you should be able to fix a car if you have technical and vocational training.
“You ought to be able to arrange enough furniture. You should be able to get them a POP and tiling when a new building is constructed, and so forth. There should be enough people with a variety of skills, not just one.
“The government is sending these young people to technical colleges in an effort to close the enormous gap.” Let me explain by using Indonesia as an example. There was a time I was there.
Similar to how we handle NYSC in Nigeria, Indonesia has a one-year program. Regardless of your background in business administration or law, you will need to complete a year of skill training. Whatever your background, you have to attend this training.
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