The Federal Government has promised to invest in the technical training of teachers towards creating a sustainable technical education ecosystem.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, disclosed this at the Annual Sensitisation Meeting of Stakeholders of Technical Teachers Training Programme (TTTP), in Abuja on Wednesday.
The theme for the meeting was” Developing 21st Century Technical Teachers; Preparing for the Future”.
The minister acknowledged the challenges bedeviling technical education, identifying some as internal and external, while pledging to overcome the challenges.
Mamman said that asides investing in technical teachers, plans were underway to review holistically the technical schools so they could function in ways they were created for.
“The TTTP has come at the right time. The ministry is working to have a balance between the regular education and the skilled based education of our children.
“Time has come when we need to train and graduate students who have skills to be employed.
“We are going to review the system holistically to be relevant to the society and for parents to see the value to send their children to school.
“We have programmes that incorporate technical training and such programmes brings students to school. This will solve long-term out-of-school problems and also prevent learning crisis,” he said.
The minister also pledged to channel resources to equipping the relevant institutions that provided skills to the students.
The Director, Technology and Science Education Department, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr Mujubat Olodo, reiterated the commitment of the department to provide training support for technical teachers.
Olodo emphasised the need to prepare technical teachers for the evolving role ahead.
She said this was key to ensuring that students acquired the skills and competencies needed to succeed in a globally competitive environment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the TTTP has history rooted in the need to strengthen the Science, Mathematics, Technical and Vocational education sector.
The meeting brought together technical teachers from the basic, secondary and tertiary institutions across the country.(NAN)
