Federal Govt Revives Scheme For Training Technical Education Teachers

By Biola Adebayo

The Nigerian government has started the resuscitation of the technical teacher training programme (TTTP).

The programme aims to produce more teachers for technical and vocational education in basic and post basic schools across the country.

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, who was represented at the inauguration by the Minister of State, Anthony Anwukah, said the scheme would impart technical knowledge and vocational skills to students, thereby contributing to the economic development of Nigeria.

He said the Federal Government introduced the initiative in 1970 to promote the acquisition of technical and vocational knowledge and skills based on the introduction of the National Policy on Education.

According to him, if Nigeria is to achieve the objective of the “Education for Change” agenda of the present administration, Nigeria must produce graduates who will compete favourably in the labour market as well as being self-reliant.

“To actualise the TTTP, the Federal Ministry of Education collaborated with training institutions in the past, both within and outside the country in manpower development and on-the-job training for technically-oriented teachers.

“To further fast track the implementation of the TTTP, Nigeria signed a bilateral agreement with the government of United States in 1981 to train 500 technical teachers annually for a period of 10 years.”

He said the agreement was reviewed after running the programme for six years.

”However, after running the Programme for six years, the agreement was reviewed and the training commenced locally in selected institutions in the country with the Department of Technology and Science Education coordinating.”

The minister said the programme was later ceded to the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) when TSE was scrapped during the reform in the education sector.

”Following the dire need for more teachers in technical and vocational subjects, it was imperative to resuscitate the TTTP in order to advance as well as reposition Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET),” he said.

He called on the committee members to promote synergy among stakeholders to produce middle-level manpower for Nigeria.

The members of the committee include the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Sunny Echono, the Director, Technology and Science Education, Elizabeth Adedigba, the Director-General, National Teachers’Institute, Dahuwa Azare, and Masa’udu Kazaure, the Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

The Director, Technology and Science Education, Mrs Adedigba, charged members of the committee to take take-up the assignment seriously to salvage TVET in Nigeria.

She promised not to let the nation down by working with all sense of responsibility, knowing full well of the paucity of technical teachers in the colleges.

The technical teacher training programme (TTTP) is one of the courses in the National Teachers’ Institute.

The National Teachers’ Institute is dedicated to teacher training across the country. The federal government established it in 1976 primarily because of the pressing needs in the country for trained and qualified teaching staff at all levels of the educational system.

Act No. 7 of April 10, 1978, establishing the institute charged it among others with the responsibility of providing courses of instruction leading to the development, upgrading and certification of teachers as specified in the relevant syllabus using distance education techniques.

The institute’s vision also includes producing teachers trained and oriented to meet the challenges of twenty-first century Nigerian society

PT