This information was made public by the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), Dr Mohammed Mohammed, during an inspection visit at the Federal Science and Technical College (FSTC) in Uromi, Edo State.
Dr Mohammed, represented at the event by NABTEB’s Director of Research and Quality Assurance, Mr Pius Osaigbovo, credited the significant growth to support from the federal government through incentives aimed at promoting technical education.
“The federal government wants to give individuals a survival skill, a skill that is relevant, a skill that makes them employable and useful to themselves and society,” he said.
Dr Mohammed also highlighted that students who complete the programme will be awarded two certificates.
“At the end of the training, the candidates would be given dual certificates by NABTEB: the usual National Technical or Business Certificate (NTC/NBC) and the National Skills Qualification (NSQ), which is competency-based,” he said.
He clarified that the TVET initiative will run for three years and is primarily focused on hands-on training.
“In the TVET, we are going to have a three-year programme and it is going to be 80 per cent technical and 20 per cent theory,” he said.
According to the NABTEB chief, only candidates who completed their online registration before the June 12 closing date were permitted to participate in the exams.
The Federal Government of Nigeria is taking major steps to reform the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector as a means of addressing youth unemployment and aligning education more closely with industry requirements.
As reported by Nairametrics, part of the government’s initiative includes a monthly allowance for students enrolled in technical colleges across the country, aimed at revitalising the sector and motivating young Nigerians to develop employable practical skills.
Over 90,000 entries were received by the federal government in under one week after the application portal was launched.
An important change to the TVET curriculum now ensures that 80% of the training focuses on practical skills and only 20% on theory to better prepare students for the job market with immediately applicable abilities.
