Nigeria’s Technical Structure Collapsed in the 80s, Says NABTEB Registrar

The Registrar of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), Mohammed Aminu Mohammed, has traced the collapse of Nigeria’s technical structure to the 1980s.

He spoke about this during a monitoring tour of the ongoing NABTEB National Business Certificate (NBC) and National Technical Certificate (NTC) examinations.

He lamented the decline in technical education infrastructure, noting that the deterioration began in the 1980s.

“In the early 80s to about a few years back, the technical structure collapsed in Nigeria. And we didn’t know that we were in trouble until 2020, when there was COVID. Then we discovered that we have a long way to go. We cannot even maintain what we have, talk less of innovating.”

 “So, from 2000 to 2020, we know that something is wrong. We are only a consuming nation, and the only way now is to adopt the TVET,” he said.

Mohammed also called on the federal government to revive trade and vocational training centres across the country to help drive economic growth and reduce the skills gap among Nigerian youths.

“This is a clear indication that no country can ignore what we call trade centers, vocational centers, and technical colleges. But in Nigeria, we are only talking about the technical colleges today. Where are the trade and vocational centers?

“The best thing the government can do for us in this country is to revive the trade centers and revive the vocational centers, because in any economy. The major drivers of any economy are the artisans, craftsmen, and technicians. But, where are they? The majority of people working in industry as artisans today are not trained to do so.”

Mohammed also expressed the federal government’s commitment to sustaining institutions like the Federal Technical College (FTC) in Yaba, while voicing concern over the state of technical education in Kaduna.

“This school has a long history in the lives of many Nigerians. I give kudos to the management team. This school and the Government Technical College Kaduna are the two major technical colleges we have in this country, and to my surprise, Yaba is still standing, but Kaduna is already down.

“We were in Kaduna last week and I want to encourage you to continue with what you are doing,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Principal of FTC Yaba, Adebimpe Ajani, appealed for increased support from the government and private sector to improve the school’s infrastructure and staffing.

“Well, definitely we need funding, more funding. We need more teachers. So, those are the areas and building some of the hostels, classrooms, and all that, because we have so many people who want to come in.

“And we don’t want to deprive anyone from coming in. So, we need all the assistance we can get,” she said.