By Ahmed Ahmed
The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has trained 250 lecturers on strengthening the revised entrepreneurship and skills development curricula of polytechnics in North East
Our correspondent reports that lecturers were drawn from polytechnics,mono-technics and related technical institutions of Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Maiduguri, Taraba and Yobe States
The Executive Secretary of the Board Prof. Idris Bugaje, stated this
at the opening ceremony of a four-day workshop organised by the Board in collaboration with Danglo Management and Financial Limited, sponsored by Tertiary Education Fund on Monday in Bauchi.
He said the National workshop was organised to strengthen and review entrepreneurship and Skills development curricula for entrepreneurship educators in Nigeria polytechnics and similar institutions.
“The workshop would provide an opportunity to rub minds and come up with a roadmap on how to strengthen entrepreneurship training in our institutions of higher learning particularly the polytechnics.
“Polytechnics graduates are by their training expected to acquire necessary knowledge and skills and not merely paper qualification in order for them to fill in vacancies in government and private sector establishments.
“Where this is not possible, they are expected to become self-employed by starting their own small-scale businesses, since it is now apparently clear that the government cannot provide employment for all graduates of higher institutions,” Bugaje said.
Bugaje, represented by Alhaji Iliyasu Mohammed explained that federal government, had shown commitment to learning of entrepreneurship and since 2006,
“Had directed all institutions of higher learning to commence entrepreneurship education as a course. Accordingly,
“The Polytechnics commenced entrepreneurship as a course in their programmes from the 2007/2008 academic session.
“The NBTE also keyed into the federal government directives by ensuring that entrepreneurship education was inculcated in the curriculum of the polytechnic education.
Bugaje reiterated that the Board also embarked on a massive review of its curricula in order to incorporate entrepreneurship training in all programmes of polytechnics.
Also Speaking, Dr Bello Bashir Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary the board’s focus had changed from degree acquisition to skill proficiency and employment creation due to changing times and modern needs,
“Entrepreneurship and skill acquisition is compulsory for every student in NBTE-regulated institutions,” he said.
On his part, the lead Consultant Prof. Egbunu Dangana from Kogi State University said the objective of the workshop is to ensure that the technical education curriculum aligns with the demands of the modern economy and to embrace emerging technologies.
He said the revised entrepreneurship curricula education would enlighten the instructors on the systems that would bring about the expected outcome.