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By Stephen Adeleye.
The Registrar/Chief Executive, National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), Prof. Ifeoma Isiugo-Abanihe, has urged government and relevant stakeholders to pay more attention to technical and vocational education.
Isiugo-Abanihe made the call during an advocacy visit to the Kogi Deputy Governor, Mr Simon Achuba in his office in Lokoja on Tuesday.
The registrar stressed the need for state governments and relevant stakeholders to collaborate with NABTEB.
She said technical and vocational education is one of the major tools for the development of human societies, worldwide.
She noted that some of the certificates awarded by NABTEB now guarantee career progression, self-employment, job/wealth creation as well as upward mobility in educational development or academic pursuit.
Isiugo-Abanihe named the certificates to include: National Business Certificate (NBC), National Technical Certificate (NTC), National Vocational Certificate (NVC), Nigerian Skills Qualification (NSQ), ANBC and ANTC.
The registrar, therefore, urged Kogi government to build more technical colleges and skill acquisition centres to enable more Kogi indigenes obtain the various certificates available under NABTEB.
She also appealed to the state government to consider paying fees for candidates May/June NABTEB examinations, sponsor candidates in school and external students to undergo training in skill acquisition.
She said this would enable those category of candidates to obtain Modular Trade Certificates for skill empowerment and self reliance as had been done by other states.
Isiugo-Abanihe commended Kogi government on its various strategies to move the state forward to achieve concrete development and a total turn-around for quality education delivery.
In his remarks, the Deputy Governor, Elder Simon Achuba, commended the registrar and her team for coming to partner with Kogi.
He said the issue of technical and vocational education could not be overemphasized at this particular time in Nigeria.
Achuba expressed government’s total support for technical and vocational education, saying, “we cannot continue to be a consuming nation; we must make new discoveries and innovation through technical and vocational training.
“Kogi government is very much available and ready to support your board.”
The deputy governor urged the registrar to stand her ground and uphold the agency’s mandate of ensuring that NABTEB certificates were strictly issued to only qualified candidates.
Achuba expressed his support for the Minister of Education to scrap administrative courses in Nigeria Polytechnics, stressing that the polytechnic institutions were established for technical education.
Also Speaking, Kogi Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Rosemary Osikoya, applauded the NABTEB registrar for collaborating with the state government in the area of technical and vocational education.
Osikoya said the visit was a follow up on the recently held Kogi Education Summit in which NABTEB played an active role, and resolutions made to place greater emphasis on Entrepreneurship, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
The commissioner said government had played its specific role at ensuring that the idea of diversifying the state and Nigeria’s economy through vocational and technical education was achieved.
The NABTEB team in company of the commissioner had earlier held a meeting with the state Head of Service, Mrs Deborah Ogunmola in her office.
Ogunmola expressed optimism that the collaboration with NABTEB would go a long way in addressing the issue of certificate affecting the state’s civil service, saying it was a very good step.
(NAN)
L-R: PS-MoEST, Mr Eric Aina; Commissioner, MoEST- Hon Rosemary Osikoya; Kogi HOS, Mrs Deborah Ogunmola, NABTEB Registrar, Prof. Ifeoma Isiugo-Abanihe; and Chairman, Kogi Civil Service Commission, Alhaji Ado Shaibu, after the meeting with the HOS on Tuesday in Lokoja
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