By Temi Ohakwe, Abuja
Polytechnics in Nigeria are missing out on Industrial trainings hence regrettably turning out graduates without technical skills.
The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund TETFUND, Prof Suleiman Elias Bogoro stated this in Abuja during a two day capacity building workshop for public polytechnics, with the theme: “Improving Skills Development in Nigerian Polytechnics for Economic Growth, Entrepreneurship and Social Inclusion.”
According to Bogoro, “our polytechnics appear to be missing this very important requirement. Without this relevant teaching skills our polytechnics can only turn out graduates with certificates but regrettably, without technical knowledge or skill”
The Tetfund Boss charged Nigerian polytechnics to give industrial training/attachment all the seriousness it deserves, for meaningful progress to be made on the delivery of their mandates.
Bogoro added that the reason polytechnics offer industrial training is for students to gain practical field knowledge in the industry, adding that students create and develop skills and competencies that they require to operate during the hands-on industrial attachment.
“The student must be monitored and supervised accordingly by their institutions to enable them understand the Work environment, through carefully selected and supervised industrial training programs,” he said.
The TETFund boss, who noted that for Nigerian polytechnics to thrive, they must focus on manpower development for teaching and practical, said polytechnic lecturers must acquire relevant teaching skills to impart the required industry-tailored knowledge to students.
“Our polytechnics appear to be missing this very important requirement. Without these relevant teaching skills our polytechnics can only turn out graduates with certificates but regrettably, without technical knowledge or skill.
“The acquisition of skills and entrepreneurship development in polytechnics cannot be underestimated because skills are needed in all critical sectors of the economy, technology and non-technology alike. Entrepreneurship on its part is seen as an entire process in which individuals in society pursue opportunities and fulfill needs through innovations.
“We can draw our lessons from the Asian tigers, which have greatly developed their local technology not only for national development but also for export. We cannot afford to continuously and wholly rely on importation of technology for national development, knowing fully well its short comings and deficiencies.
Polytechnics must rise to the challenges of a 21st century knowledge economy by reinventing themselves to providing the needed skill gaps for sustainable technological growth. It is because of the gaps in our tertiary education landscape, that the TETFund was established by the Nigerian government to intervene specifically in public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education across the country,” he said.
Bogoro said TETFund will continue to support workshops of this nature so as to provide avenues that promote the betterment of the education system in Nigeria for the development of the country.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, Prof Idris Bugaje, described the workshop as a wakeup call to every polytechnic to reposition itself for skills development.
Bugaje said the workshop was to address skills training under the National Skills Qualification Framework, NSQF and improve the skills content of technical education in polytechnics.
He decried the low skills content in polytechnics, stating that at National Diploma, ND, and Higher National Diploma, HND, the level of skills content is depreciating.
