NBTE trains 400 entrepreneurship educators in polytechnics, others

By Biola Adebayo On Oct 9, 2023

NBTE ,entrepreneurship, educators ,polytechnics, — NBTE trains 400 entrepreneurship educators in polytechnics, others

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has trained selected educators from polytechnics and other institutions across the country on its reviewed entrepreneurship and skills development curricula in Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the South-West zonal national entrepreneurship workshop, sponsored by Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TeTFund), was organized by NBTE, in conjunction with Danglo Management and Financial Limited, on Monday in Ibadan.

The Executive Secretary of NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, while speaking at the workshop, said that the training on the reviewed curricula was aimed at teaching entrepreneurship in tune with current economic realities in Nigeria.

Bugaje, who was represented by Mr Garba Isa, a town planner, said that the last review held in 2007 could not address the challenges confronting science, technology, and economy in the country.

“Entrepreneurship holds the key to self-reliance and capacity to become employers of labor.

“The statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that 90 percent of Nigerians are employed by small and medium-scale enterprises (SMSEs).

“This shows the crucial roles that entrepreneurship skills play in changing employment and gross domestic product (GDP) narratives in Nigeria,” he said.

Also speaking, the Director of the Curriculum Development Department, NBTE, Dr Musa Koko, said that the workshop was to call the attention of participants to new approaches to entrepreneurship delivery.

Koko noted that reviewed curricula had addressed the content, pedagogy, and practical requirements in terms of skills and trades as well as award and certification of graduands.

“It is important to note that nearly 17 years of implementation of the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) project in our institutions has been overdue in content, approach, and delivery.

“The board has rolled out a decisive policy direction aimed primarily at addressing TVET positions in skills delivery which include: the review of aging curricula in all the programmes and especially, the entrepreneurship education.

“The review was necessitated by time and the need to reinvigorate the spirit of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship for all TVET institutions and its graduates,” Koko said.

Commenting, the Lead Consultant to NBTE on the reviewed entrepreneurship curricula, Prof. Audu Dangana, said that the workshop would have been packaged to properly orientate the participants and develop their skills and those of their students to be self-reliant.

This, he said, would reduce poverty and create more job opportunities, wealth, and value reorientation among citizens.

NAN reports that more than 400 participants were drawn from polytechnics and other institutions in the south-west zone for the workshop, scheduled for Oct. 9 to Oct. 10. (NAN)