The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) have moved to reposition Engineering and Technology Education in Nigeria to meet up with digital standards.
The president of COREN, Prof Abubakar Sadiq stated during a technical meeting at the NBTE headquarters in Kaduna yesterday that engineering practice and technology education should be repositioned at the level of polytechnics, monotechnics, technical colleges and the informal sector.
Prof Abubakar identified lack of synergy between COREN and NBTE as a gap affecting the profession, which he said, if rekindled, would result in greater achievements and development in the engineering sector.
He regretted that about 126 technical colleges in the country were not regulated, stressing that the colleges have virtually lost their quality and standards.
“Technical colleges feed into the monotechnics and polytechnics, where the end is almost dead in the colleges. The future of this country in the area of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is in jeopardy if we don’t sit down to address the gaps,” he said.
According to him, the informal sector is choked with millions of uncertified youths who lack the requisite competencies, skills and proficiencies.
The president recalled that the NBTE has packaged the National Skills Qualification Framework, while COREN has produced about 18-sector skills councils.
“COREN will eventually have to accept to register the trainees when they are certified. This workshop is very key to identify areas where we and the NBTE must work together and bring other relevant key partners like the ITF, NABTEB, NUC, TETFund and other agencies and sectoral regulators in areas of engineering and technology,” he stated.