Technical education: Obaseki seeks partnership with FG to train teachers for science, technical colleges

…as NBTE assures collaboration

Worried by the dearth of teachers specially trained to teach in science and technical colleges, Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has sought the collaboration of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to train a new crop of teachers for the colleges.

Obaseki who made the request while receiving the management staff of NBTE, led by Sumaila Tanko, at Government House, Benin City, said the collaboration has become necessary as his administration is grappling with inadequate teachers in technical schools across the state.

“The biggest challenge we have as a government is inadequate technical and science teachers. NBTE has to work with us, co-invest with us to train science and technical teachers for our technical schools across the state.

“We have one college of education in the state with three schools. The one in Auchi specialises in training teachers and equipping them with technical skills. We would want to collaborate with you in training these teachers who will in turn train our students in our technical and science schools across the state,” he said.

Obaseki told his guests that his administration is working with the private sector to create the opportunity for them to be part of the technical training.

“We are working with the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association on the revamp of Government Science and Technical College, formerly Benin Technical College, and we have got funding from the World Bank to furnish the workshops and laboratory. By the middle of 2019, we will re-open that school”, he added.

He assured the group that his administration is working round the clock to revamp all the science and technical schools in the state.

Obaseki also made a case for a more robust curriculum for technical education in line with the present-day realities.

“Our administration is focusing on technical schools and our goal is to ensure that our students are equipped with the technical or vocational skills in their first 12 years of primary and secondary schools”.

Earlier, leader of NBTE delegation, Samaila Tanko, said they were in Benin City for an advisory visit to technical and science schools in Benin City, Afuze, Igarra and Irrua.

Tanko commended the governor for the ongoing revamp of the Government Science and Technical College, formerly Benin Technical College, and appealed to him to extend the huge investment to the other technical and science schools in the state.

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