By Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta
Ogun State government has pledged its continued support for women in technical education and employment, as well as the development of the girl-child in technical education.
This, according to the state government is part of its deliberate plans to encourage the women folk to be skilful and self reliant
Special Adviser to the Governor on Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Prof. Joseph Odemuyiwa, according to statement from his Media aide, Ahmed Taofeek was said to have made this disclosure recently while playing host to Women in Technical and Vocational Education (WITED), Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) chapter.
Prof Odemuyiwa noted that the present administration placed premium in empowering women and the girl-child, to enable them to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of the States.
He posited that technical education remains the best form of education that is capable of sustaining an individual, the society, and transforming the economy of the nation, urging people to take advantage of it to become employers of labour rather than job seekers.
“In Ogun State, we place a lot of importance on developing the girl-child in technical education. In the last two years, there has been a great improvement in the enrolment of female students in our technical colleges, as we have female students even in Mechanical Engineering craft practice. We also have a lot of them in Electrical Installation Technology and other fields which were seen as men dominated. So, there are lots of opportunities for women in technical education”, he said.
He disclosed that the government is working to ensure that technical education is incorporated into all levels of education in the State to develop basic technology and make it more appealing for the learners to see it as necessary, and it is implementing the aspect of choosing at least a trade subject for every school leaver.
Prof. Odemuyiwa revealed that for the State to maintain its position as the industrial hub of Nigeria, there is need to develop technical education as its importance cannot be over-emphasised, assuring the Association of the government’s collaboration and support with the view to exploring other areas towards projecting technical education for the women, just as he charged them to bequeath good and lasting legacies for those coming behind them.
Speaking earlier, Vice-Chairperson of the Association, Dr. (Mrs.) Abidemi Taiwo, noted that the visit was to seek support in its sensitisation drive for greater integration of women in technical programmes, encourage women to engage in all fields of leadership without gender discrimination, cooperate with other agencies to increase women’s participation in development and technical areas at all levels, as well as develop programmes in enhancing women’s role in technical education and employment, among others.
On her part, the Director, Linkage and Continuing Education, MAPOLY, Dr. (Mrs.) Adebambo Akinyosoye, encouraged more girl-child to venture into the male-dominating fields, expressing hope that they would carve a niche for themselves with encouragement from parents.