Alausa Moves to Overhaul NBTE, Taps KPMG to Reset Nigeria’s TVET System By Beauty Akporido Aroh

The Federal Government has commenced a major institutional overhaul of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), with Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, engaging KPMG Advisory Services to reposition the agency as a more effective regulator and driver of Nigeria’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system.

The reform, described by the Minister as a strategic intervention rather than a routine administrative exercise, is expected to strengthen NBTE’s capacity to regulate and coordinate polytechnics, monotechnics and other technical institutions while aligning skills development with Nigeria’s industrial, economic and workforce priorities.

Under the KPMG-led assessment, the NBTE’s governance structure, organisational design, operating processes, workforce capabilities and service delivery mechanisms are being reviewed to identify institutional gaps and develop a future-ready operating framework for the agency.

Alausa said the exercise was critical to the success of the Federal Government’s TVET reforms and the realisation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its emphasis on human capital development, productivity, employment and economic growth.

> “The success of Nigeria’s TVET reforms depends not only on curriculum and infrastructure, but also on the strength and effectiveness of the institutions responsible for implementation and oversight,” the Minister said.

He argued that a stronger NBTE would provide the institutional backbone required to improve quality assurance, strengthen accountability and deepen collaboration between technical institutions and industry.

The Minister stressed that the restructuring would reposition NBTE as a modern, agile and fit-for-purpose institution capable of responding to rapid changes in technology, labour markets and industry requirements.

Alausa also linked the NBTE transformation to the ongoing overhaul of Nigeria’s polytechnic curricula and the development of National Occupational Standards (NOS), saying technical education must ultimately be measured by the competencies and opportunities it creates for Nigerians.

“Technical and vocational education is fundamentally about skills. Everything within the polytechnic system is ultimately geared towards developing competencies that create pathways to employment, entrepreneurship, and productivity,” he said.

The curriculum modernisation programme, supported by a ₦1 billion intervention from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), has so far produced 27 new National Occupational Standards and updated four existing standards, bringing the total number of reviewed standards to 31.

The standards are designed to create an integrated skills-development pathway spanning artisan-level training, National Certificates, Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes.

The Minister said the objective was to ensure that graduates of Nigeria’s technical institutions acquire practical and market-relevant skills capable of improving employability, entrepreneurship and national productivity.
Providing an industry perspective on the reform, Oluwole Adelokun, Partner, Strategy and Customer Solutions at KPMG Africa and KPMG in Nigeria, said the firm’s assessment had exposed significant structural challenges but also demonstrated the enormous potential of Nigeria’s TVET sector.

Adelokun disclosed that approximately 93 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce operates in the informal economy, while nearly 12 per cent of young people are not in education, employment or skills training.

According to him, the figures underscore the urgency of building a more inclusive and responsive skills-development system capable of connecting young Nigerians to employment, enterprise and productive economic activity.

Despite the challenges, Adelokun said Nigeria recorded a significant strength in the employability of TVET graduates, ranking second only to Singapore among the countries assessed.

He said the finding demonstrated the capacity of Nigeria’s technical education system to produce industry-ready talent if the structural constraints confronting the sector were properly addressed.

One of the major challenges identified by the assessment is curriculum relevance.

Adelokun said more than 55 per cent of assessed curricula across disciplines, including engineering, science, arts and design, were outdated, limiting the ability of training institutions to respond quickly to changing industry demands.

He also identified funding constraints and the existing five-year curriculum review cycle as major barriers to curriculum responsiveness, although he cited the recent revision of the agriculture curriculum as an encouraging development.

Responding to the findings, Alausa said the KPMG assessment would provide valuable evidence for the next phase of NBTE’s transformation, alongside the Ministry’s ongoing curriculum modernisation and skills-development initiatives.

He said the resulting transformation roadmap would establish a clearer framework for aligning NBTE’s structure, operations and institutional capabilities with its statutory responsibilities and the Federal Government’s wider TVET agenda.

A restructured NBTE, the Minister maintained, would be better equipped to supervise institutions under its mandate, strengthen quality assurance, improve accountability, deepen industry partnerships and ensure that technical education responds to emerging economic opportunities.

The reform is ultimately aimed at transforming Nigeria’s technical education system from one primarily focused on certification to one driven by skills, employability, innovation, enterprise and productivity.

Alausa reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to building a TVET ecosystem capable of producing a globally competitive workforce, describing the transformation of NBTE as a critical pillar of the Federal Government’s human capital development strategy.

> “The ultimate objective is to build a more agile, effective, and future-ready institution capable of delivering on its mandate and supporting the realization of President Tinubu’s vision of a highly skilled, productive, and globally competitive Nigerian workforce,” he said.