4-year education roadmap underway –Minister

By Gabriel Dike

The President Bola Tinubu administration is proposing a four-year roadmap for the nation’s education sector as a way addressing the numerous challenges facing the sector.

Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, disclosed, yesterday, at the 35th convocation ceremony of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH).

The college graduated 7,717 students and conferred fellowship on three prominent Nigerians, including Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, former first lady of Lagos State, Doja Otedola and Hassan Sunmonu. The minister, represented by the Director, Legal Services, in the ministry, Blessing Azorbo, said the Tinubu administration was aware of the various challenges facing the education sector. He identified the challenges to include accessibility equity, funding, teacher capacity building, institutional management, technical and vocational education.

“A comprehensive four-year strategic plan is underway, serving as a roadmap for the sector’s development. A crucial step in this direction was the national stakeholders’ workshop on October 19, 2023, organised by the Federal Ministry of Education. The envisioned roadmap is poised to shape the future of education in our nation.”

He said addressing the challenges required collaborative efforts beyond the government and called on stakeholders to complement government initiatives.

The minister tasked YABATECH to respond to contemporary challenges and foster innovation fabricating tools for agricultural and manufacturing industries.

YABATECH Rector, Ibraheem Abdul, said the college would graduate 7,717 students out of which 254 obtained distinction.

He said at 76, YABATECH is a national heritage and pride of the nation and has been ranked first position in the past six years.

Abdul said his administration plans to make YABATECH a global brand and is the first public institution to get an ISO certificate.

The rector said, under his watch within six months, 22 courses have been accredited by the National Board for Technical Education and established two programmes.