From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Federal Government has disclosed that more than 250,000 Nigerians are currently undergoing skills acquisition training in about 1,200 centres nationwide under its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) initiative, as demand for vocational skills continues to outstrip available funding and training capacity.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, who disclosed this in Abuja yesterday, said the programme had attracted approximately 2.7 million applications across two enrolment exercises, underscoring the growing demand for practical skills and employment opportunities among Nigerians.
Alausa, who spoke with journalists after an engagement with the House of Representatives Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, explained that each trainee receives a monthly stipend of ₦30,000, while participating training centres are paid N50,000 per student monthly to provide practical instruction and other training requirements.
He said the initiative was part of the President Bola Tinubu administration’s efforts to reposition technical and vocational education as a major component of Nigeria’s education system and address unemployment, skills shortages and the country’s dependence on imported technical expertise.
“Before this president came in, technical and vocational education was almost totally dissipated in our country. But I can tell you, in a short three years, we’ve brought that back,” the minister said.
According to him, the funding arrangement was designed to remove financial barriers to participation while ensuring that accredited training centres had sufficient resources to engage qualified instructors, procure modern equipment and deliver practical, industry-relevant training.
The minister explained that the government had streamlined the programme’s training areas from about 60 trades to 22 priority skills, with emphasis on occupations considered relevant to the country’s economic and industrial needs.
Among the trades covered are fashion design, solar photovoltaic installation, electrical installation and plumbing.
Alausa said the decision to concentrate on fewer priority areas was intended to improve the quality of instruction and ensure that beneficiaries acquired skills capable of supporting employment, entrepreneurship and productivity.
He disclosed that the first enrolment exercise attracted approximately 1.3 million applications, while the second recorded nearly 1.4 million, bringing the combined figure to about 2.7 million.
However, he explained that the government could not admit all applicants because the demand exceeded the funding available and the capacity of participating training institutions.
The minister maintained that the initiative represented a significant shift towards practical and technical education, which he said had suffered years of inadequate attention despite its importance to industrial development and job creation.
He argued that equipping young Nigerians with marketable technical skills would help bridge manpower shortages, support small businesses and provide alternatives to conventional white-collar employment.
Earlier, Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, Fuad Laguda, described the committee’s engagement with the minister as productive, saying it had provided lawmakers with a clearer understanding of ongoing reforms in technical education.
Laguda, who spoke after an executive session with Alausa, said improved communication between the ministry and the National Assembly would strengthen legislative oversight and facilitate better implementation of education policies.
“Our meeting was progressive and purposeful. We are satisfied and, like I said, we will be moving forward and having better engagements,” he said.
The committee chairman stressed that access to accurate information was essential for lawmakers to effectively monitor government programmes and ensure that public resources were deployed for their intended purposes.
“Information is power. Having more knowledge about what is going on will aid us in carrying out our expected duties and having oversight functions,” Laguda stated.
The engagement formed part of the committee’s oversight responsibilities concerning federal polytechnics, higher technical education and related government initiatives aimed at improving technical manpower development in Nigeria.