40 Technical Colleges to Benefit from World Bank Environmental Safeguard Measures

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

An estimated 40 Technical Colleges in Nigeria alongside the private sector would benefit from the World Bank assisted project which is set to prioritise environmental and social safeguard measures.

This is even as the federal government called on the management of schools to prioritise the project so as to enhance effective implementation of the innovation and skills acquisition project in Nigeria.

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, gave the charge at a workshop on Environmental and Social Safeguard Screening and other preliminary activities for Technical Colleges Implementing Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS) Project held in Abuja recently.

Adamu noted that environmental and social management was critical for effectiveness and sustainability of the project in line with the Nigerian environmental policies and the World Bank’s environmental and social policy.

He said: “As important as developmental and expansionist projects are for human development, what is of equal importance for consideration is ensuring environmental and human protection in the process of executing projects.”

In a bid to ensure effectiveness and sustainability, the project has prioritised environmental and social management in line with the Nigerian environmental policies and the World Bank environmental and social policy.

According to him, “The environmental and social screening of sub-project marks the beginning of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) or Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) processes.

“In view of this, all Environmental and Social Officers (ESOs) and Project Managers (PMs) of the participating Technical Colleges need to be trained on how to carry out environmental and social screening of sub projects in the colleges using screening checklist provided for in the Evaluating Solution in Management Facilities (ESMF). The essence of the IDEAS project is to address the current deficiencies in the educational system that has made a large number of school leavers unemployed, as I urge Nigerian youths to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the project.”