Nigeria must have more polytechnics to fight unemployment

The world is shifting to a skills-based education focused on practical application, while placing less emphasis on paper qualifications, and Nigeria should follow suit.

To reduce unemployment and create jobs for the teeming Nigerian youth, the Nigerian government should focus more on entrepreneurship and technical education to equip citizens with skills-based education. This will help Nigerian youth secure direct labor during and after school.

Just recently, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, agreed to the request of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to provide two certificates to polytechnic graduates. This is a good initiative that will add more value to Nigerian polytechnics.

Professor Idris M. Bugaje, the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education, is doing a good job of changing the old narratives of the Nigerian polytechnic education system. Professor Bugaje is advocating for modernizing polytechnic institutions and reinventing better ways of improving skills in technical and vocational education.

Prof. Bugaje is doing wonderful work in the National Occupational Standards (NOS) of skill trades. With the assistance of the Ministry of Education and the help of the current Minister of Education, much can be done to revitalize the Nigerian skills industries.

Polytechnics and formal skills training will change the dogma of Nigeria’s skills occupational system.

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) is the beacon of Nigerian hope for a brighter future.

Polytechnics are all about hands-on learning. They equip students with the actual, usable skills that employers need. Universities are not skills-oriented institutions and should not be considered as such. Evidence shows that graduates finish universities with degrees that just don’t translate to what the market wants. Polytechnics fill the jobs gap because polytechnic graduates are trained for specific industries and trades.

Polytechnics are about creating self-independence jobs. The polytechnic institutions encourage innovation and teach students how to start their own businesses during and after the study.

Through the polytechnic system, young Nigerians can access quality technical education. The polytechnics build young entrepreneurs with skills that benefit both the nation and the workers.

Polytechnics invest in quality instructors, modern equipment, and curricula that are actually relevant to the needs of the Nigerian labor market, and this will reduce the rate of importing labor into our own country. This only favors non-Nigerians and impoverishes our economy.

Nigeria is bursting with young, potential youths. Our young Nigerians are smart, resourceful, and ready to work, and this government should pave the way for this demand.

Let this government renew the hope of our polytechnics, youths, and education to curb unemployment and fight poverty for the good of the country.