Obaseki to revive technical schools to drive industrialization

Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki Monday said his administration would rebuild technical colleges across the state to train skilled technical manpower for industrialisation and job creation for the state.

The Governor made the disclosure in Benin City when led a high-profile delegation of the Executive arm of Government on an inspection of the Benin Technical College for an on-the-spot assessment of the condition of the school and the facilities.

“Look at what we have, it’s unacceptable. We will take very very drastic measures in the next few weeks. We have to rebuild this institution and we have to bring it up so that it becomes the basis for training technical manpower we need to drive our industrial revolution in the state.” Obaseki was accompanied on the facility tour by the State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie and the Chief of Staff, Edo State Government, Taiwo Akerele.

He said “In our election promise, you recall, we said emphasizes was going to be on jobs. And to create jobs, you have to have facilities and institutions where you train people on practical knowledge on how to create work and create things and that is why we felt that the first point of call should be to find out what happened to our technical college which is supposed to be the institution to train skilled technical man-power and I’m sure, you will agree with me, that this is pitiable. It’s really really sad.”

According to the Governor, “If you could see the quality of the infrastructure that was built 40 years ago, two of these institutions were donated by the Canadian Government to two African countries 40 years ago. If you look at the equivalent of this institution in Tanzania, it is producing highly qualified technical manpower in that country.”

He told the Principal of the School, Mrs Bose Imafidon, who conducted the Governor and his entourage round the school, to submit the survey plan of the property through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education to the Governor’s Office.

Places inspected are the technical session, Junior Secondary School and its extension, welding and technical workshop, which accommodates various machines and other equipment.

Also inspected were the Radio and Television, Electrical, Information and Communication workshops as well as staff quarters and the swimming pool, its pavilion and dressing room which were already over-grown by weeds.

The inspection revealed wide-spread dilapidation of infrastructure and technical facilities in the school.