Gov Fubara calls for shift to vocational, technical education to tackle unemployment

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has called for a major shift in Nigeria’s education system towards vocational and technical training.

Fubara said the country’s heavy focus on academic certificates at the expense of practical skills and technical expertise was contributing significantly to unemployment and slowing economic growth.

The governor made the remarks on Wednesday while inaugurating an Entrepreneurship Centre, Engineering Faculty Building and Governing Council Building at the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic in Rumuola, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

He stressed the need for an education system that equips young Nigerians with practical skills that can help them secure employment, create businesses and contribute to national development.

Fubara said greater attention to vocational and technical education would help bridge the gap between education and the demands of the labour market while reducing the growing rate of unemployment among young people.

He said if Rivers State and, by extension, Nigeria must prepare its youths for the challenges of the 21st century, deliberate and consistent efforts must be made to realign the curriculum with vocational and technical education focused on practical skills for self-employment and job creation.

Fubara recalled that the 6-3-3-4 educational system, which Nigeria adopted in the 1980s, was designed to prepare young Nigerians for the future through vocational and technical education at the secondary school level.

He said under the programme, students were expected to advance their education to either polytechnics or universities, depending on their capacities, talents and skills.

According to him, at the completion of the first three years of secondary school, a student should have acquired a skill, trade or craft and could become self-employed.

He lamented that over the years, the country appeared to have deviated from that noble vision, with young people becoming obsessed with acquiring certificates and degrees without the skills and competencies relevant to the present-day labour market.

“The polytechnic system was designed in such a way that if you’re gifted with your hands; if you’re a technical person, you can go there and learn more, build your skills so that you can add value to our society.

“But you know that somehow, our society doesn’t attach much importance to those levels of people,” the governor said.

“So even when you know that you can’t survive the rigours of academic work, you put your head, struggle to make sure you complete the six years, jump into one university, and come out with one degree that is not useful.

“That is part of the problem we are having in our society,” he added.

The governor explained that the idea behind the Entrepreneurship Centre project at Elechi Amadi Polytechnic was to create a facility where young people could be groomed with relevant skills to become employers of labour after graduation instead of job seekers.

Fubara reaffirmed his administration’s focus on developmental projects that would create opportunities and solve societal problems.

“So for us as a government, what is important to us is not just about embarking on projects but executing projects that will touch the lives of the people; projects that will solve problems and projects that will bring advancement to our lives.

“Today, technology has taken over everything. So if we have to prepare our youths; if we have to prepare our dear state, for the challenge ahead, our educational programmes have to be very strategic,” he said.

The governor charged the school authorities, students and the entire community to safeguard the facilities and equipment against theft and vandalism, urging them to take ownership of the infrastructure instead of treating them as “government property.”

He also emphasised the need for the people of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area to embrace the new wave of peace in the state, stressing that political stability remained a primary condition for development.

“I would like to say, on a final note, there is every need for everyone to abide by this peace. Without peace, we would not be here to inaugurate this project. And I’m happy that we have gotten that state of rest in our dear state.

“The remaining time we have is to make sure we write our name, we stamp our foot in the sands of time, so that when we are no more here, people can look at us and say, yes, these were the little things, but very significant that this administration did for the great people of our state,” Fubara stated.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Dr Peter Nwagor, who gave a brief presentation on the projects, said one aspect entailed the construction and complete furnishing of two one-storey buildings housing classrooms, workshops, staff quarters and administrative wings for the School of Engineering and Entrepreneurship Centre.

Nwagor said each building spans approximately 1,940 square metres, featuring eight halls, 14 staff offices and 22 toilet facilities, with fully air-conditioned spaces equipped for practical training.

The commissioner said the third project, the Governing Council Building, was started by the previous administration of Nyesom Wike but completed and fully furnished by the Fubara-led administration.

The Rector of the institution, Dr Moses Neebee, hailed the projects as historic landmarks on the school’s landscape.

According to Neebee, the Entrepreneurship Centre and other projects were among the major developments on the campus in nearly two decades.

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