Tinubu’s TVET Reforms Gather Momentum as Alausa Inaugurates NBTE Governing Board By Beauty Akporido Aroh
The Federal Government has intensified its drive to transform Nigeria’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector with the inauguration of the Governing Board of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), describing the move as a major milestone in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda aimed at building a globally competitive, skills-driven economy.
In a press release signed by Ikharo Attah, Special Adviser (Media and Communications), the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, said the inauguration signals the administration’s determination to reposition technical education as a strategic tool for industrialisation, youth empowerment, innovation and sustainable economic growth.
Alausa said the government is deliberately shifting Nigeria’s education system from an overreliance on paper qualifications to producing highly skilled graduates equipped for entrepreneurship, modern industries and emerging technologies.
He charged the newly inaugurated board to provide strategic leadership for the sector, fast-track the implementation of the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) framework for skilled artisans, modernise TVET curricula to align with Industry 4.0 technologies, and uphold transparency, accountability and effective oversight in the management of public resources.
The Minister stressed that technical education is no longer a second-choice pathway but a national priority, noting that Nigeria’s industrial and economic ambitions depend on producing competent technicians, technologists, engineers, artisans and other skilled professionals capable of driving productivity and innovation.
Responding on behalf of the board, Chairman Professor Babatunde L. Salako pledged the board’s commitment to supporting the Federal Government’s reform agenda, promising to strengthen skills development, promote innovation and improve public perception of technical education as a viable route to employment, entrepreneurship and national development.
Also speaking, NBTE Executive Secretary Professor Idris M. Bugaje described the inauguration as a landmark development, noting that the agency had operated for more than five years without a governing board. He assured the Minister of the board’s full cooperation in implementing the administration’s TVET transformation agenda.
Formally inaugurating the board, Alausa urged members to see their appointments as a call to national service and reaffirmed the Federal Government’s resolve to make TVET a catalyst for job creation, industrial competitiveness and shared prosperity under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
