By Princess-Ekwi Ajide, Abuja
As part of measures to reduce the increasing rate of unemployment in the country, the Federal Government and the World Bank have organized a workshop to reposition Technical Education and enhance Nigeria’s skills development for formal and informal sectors of the nation’s economy in Makurdi, Benue state capital.
The workshop, organised under the World Bank sponsored project “Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS) has the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Board for Technical Education, Abia, Edo, Ekiti, Benue, Gombe, and Kano States as implementing Agencies.
In a message at the opening ceremony of the workshop, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, represented by the National Project Coordinator, Mrs Blessing Ogwu, told stakeholders that the essence of the IDEAS project is to address the current deficiencies in the education system that have made a large number of school leavers unemployed, urging Nigerian youths to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the project.
The Minister, said an estimated 40 Technical colleges in the country, alongside the private sector will benefit from the project which also has a technical teacher training component.
He revealed that a Two Hundred Million Dollar credit facility from the world Bank has been approved for the project which its implementation will span over a five year period.
In a welcome address earlier, the Benue state commissioner for education, Dr Saawuan Tarnongu commended World Bank, Federal Ministry of education and other stakeholders for organizing the workshop, pledging the total support and commitment of the Government and people of Benue state towards the successful implementation of the project.
As part of its commitment, the commissioner said Governor Samuel Ortom has approved the recruitment of science and technical teachers as well as the erection of perimeter fences for all the colleges selected for the project in the state.
On his part, the state coordinator of IDEAS project, Samuel Kwende, told participants that the training of key players in the chain of the implementation process is a prerequisite for the overall success of the project.
A statement signed by the Director, Press, Federal Ministry of Education, Ben. Bem Goong, said the 2 day workshop ends on Tuesday July 19, 2022.
