TETFund inaugurates committees to upscale skills devt.
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has inaugurated three ad-hoc committees to upscale skills development in the country.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony on Monday in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, said the committees also have the mandate to strengthen the Fund’s intervention activities.
Echono said skills development was one of the priority areas of government to address the prevailing challenges of youths unemployment and poverty.
“In line with the Fund’s commitment to deepen its content-based interventions, concerted efforts are being made to identity more innovative ways to promote skills development for the teeming youths.
“In line with this, provision was made for skills development programme in Polytechnics under the Fund’s Special Interventions,” he said.
Echono charged the committee to assess the present state of skills development programmes in Polytechnics based on the entrepreneurship and skills development policy of government.
He commended the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for making deliberate efforts to improve skill development in Nigerian polytechnics.
Specifically, he hailed NBTE for formalising the informal apprenticeship training through The National Skills Qualification Framework.
Echono commended President Bola Tinubu for approving the 2024 Intervention budget of the Fund.
He charged the committees to bring in their wealth of experiences to bear in the discharge of the national assignments.
Echono said the committees were to submit their reports within six weeks from the day of their inauguration.
The first committee – Committee on Operationalisation of Equipment Upgrade in Workshops and Laboratories for Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education (Technical) – is headed by Prof. Hayward Babale
The second committees – Committee on Assessment/Review of TETFund Centres of Excellence – us chaired by Prof. Oyewale Tomori.
The third committee – Committee on Operationalisation of Skills Development Special Intervention – is chaired by Prof. Idris Bugaje.
Responding on behalf of others, Bugaje commended the Fund for investing in skills development.
He assured that they would discharge their duties to the best of their abilities.
