Alausa inaugurates NBTE governing board, charges members to drive TVET revolution
By Uji A Iliyasu, Abuja
The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, has inaugurated the Governing Board of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), describing it as a milestone in repositioning Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as the cornerstone of Nigeria’s industrialisation.
This was disclosed in a statement by Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister, Ikharo Attah on Thursday, following the inauguration in Abuja.
Dr Alausa said the administration was shifting Nigeria’s education system from an overdependence on paper qualifications toward producing skilled graduates capable of driving industrialisation and national productivity under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Congratulating the chairman and members on their appointments, the Minister outlined four priorities for the Board: providing strategic leadership while leaving day-to-day administration to the Executive Secretary; accelerating implementation of the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) framework with the Industrial Training Fund to certify skilled artisans under the National Skills Qualification Framework; modernising curricula through Outcome-Based Education aligned with Industry 4.0, including digital technologies, automation, AI and green technologies; and ensuring fiscal discipline and accountability in the use of public resources and intervention funds.
He urged polytechnics to strengthen focus on applied sciences and engineering while gradually phasing out non-technical programmes outside their statutory mandate.
Responding, Board Chairman, Professor Babatunde L. Salako, thanked President Tinubu and the Minister for the confidence reposed in the Board, pledging its support for the reform agenda and identifying the need to change public perception of technical education as a second-choice option as a key priority.
Executive Secretary of NBTE, Professor Idris M. Bugaje, thanked the Minister for inaugurating the Board after more than five years without one, describing it as a landmark reflecting Dr Alausa’s leadership, and assured of the Board’s commitment to supporting the TVET transformation agenda.
Formally inaugurating the Board on behalf of President Tinubu, Dr Alausa charged members to approach their appointment as a call to national service, noting that Nigeria’s technical education future and economic competitiveness depend on their leadership.
He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening TVET as an engine for job creation, entrepreneurship and shared prosperity.