By Philip Ezuma, Port Harcourt
Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has advocated a strategic shift to Vocational and Technical Education (VTE) in Nigeria’s educational curriculum, insisting that the current emphasis on paper qualifications over technical expertise and practical skills were the major drivers of unemployment and economic stagnation in the country.
Governor Fubara made the advocacy yesterday during the commissioning of three major infrastructure projects at the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Rumuola, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The Governor said that, if Rivers State and by extension, Nigeria must prepare her youths for the challenges of the 21st Century, deliberate and consistent efforts must be made to realign the curriculum with vocational and technical education focused on practical skills for self-employment and job creation.
Governor Fubara recalled that the 6-3-3-4 Educational System, which Nigeria adopted in the 1980s, was designed to prepare young Nigerians for the future through Vocational and Technical Education at the secondary school level. He said that under the programme, students were expected to advance their educational pursuits to either the Polytechnics or Universities depending on their capacities, talents and skills at a young age.
According to him, at the completion of the first three years of secondary school, a student should have acquired a skill, trade or craft and could become self-employed.
He lamented that over the years, the country appears to have deviated from that noble vision and young people have become so obsessed with acquiring certificates and degrees without skills and competencies relevant to the present day labour market.
“The Polytechnic system was designed in such a way that if you’re gifted with your hands; if you’re a technical person, you can go there and learn more; build your skills so that you can add value to our society.
But you know that somehow, our society doesn’t attach much importance to that level of people. So even when you know that you can’t survive the rigours of academic works, you put your head, struggle to make sure you complete the six years, jump into one university, and come out with one degree that is not useful. That is part of the problem we are having in our society,” he said.
The Governor explained that the idea behind the Entrepreneurship Center project at Elechi Amadi Polytechnic is to have a place where young people can be groomed with relevant skills that could lead them to become employers of labour, on graduation, instead of job seekers.
Governor Fubara reaffirmed his administration’s focus on developmental projects that will create opportunities and solve problems of the society.
“So for us as a government, what is important to us is not just about embarking on projects but executing projects that will touch the lives of the people; projects that will solve problems and projects that will bring advancement to our lives.
“Today, technology has taken over everything. So if we have to prepare our youths; if we have to prepare our dear state, for the challenge ahead, our educational programmes have to be very strategic,” he said.
