‘Poor public perception slowing down revitalisation of technical education’

Amidst the growing unemployment rate in the country,  Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), has blamed the slow pace of technical education on poor public perception.

Executive Secretary of the board, Mrs. Omolara Erogbogbo, who lamented  that  efforts by successive government over the years have paled into insignificance due to low acceptability from Nigerians who are yet recognise the economic strength inherent in technical and vocational education.

With white collar jobs gradually going into extinction, Erogbogbo appealed to parents to encourage their wards to embrace technical and vocational education, saying it has the capacity to equip them for a successful career path.

She said, “There are numerous justifications for government worldwide to focus and invest in Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET). It is not meant for drop outs, our youths must be encouraged to embrace it. TVET is intended to reduce poverty and increase relevance of schooling by imparting individuals with skills and knowledge necessary for making the individual a productive member of the society.

“It is also intended to reduce unemployment by providing employable skills especially to the youths and those who cannot succeed academically. It also increases economic development as it improves the quality and skill level of working population. but over the years, efforts by various governments to revitalise TVET in the country is moving at a slow pace because of poor public perception, and the trend is not good for the country. “

At the state level, Erogbogbo said government has through public-private-partnership lifted the five technical colleges in the state to international standard.

“With support from the Lagos Eko Project which gave birth to the creation of centres of excellence in three of the colleges; the Samsung Engineering Academy and FACT centre, the Power Academy, Automative Academy, global partnership with Dangote industries, Slot system, Auto-Medics, among numerous others, we have exposed our students to recent development in the industries.

Although Erogbogbo noted that the five colleges are not enough to meet the demands of the state, she assured of government’s continuous commitment to “through the board produce high quality technical skills in quantity and quality to actualise the Lagos vision and nurture a technical and industrial attitude in the minds of the citizenry.”