NBTE Unveils 60 New Reviewed Courseware in Nigerian Institutions

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), which oversees all Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools in Nigeria, has launched more than 60 new and reviewed curricula, National Occupational Standards (NOS), open distance and flexible e-Learning (ODFeL) courseware.

The executive secretary NBTE, Prof. Idris M. Bugaje, revealed the information on Tuesday at the NBTE liaison office in Abuja.

According to Bugaje, the curricula will provide guidelines for institutions and set uniform criteria for teaching staff in the preparation of future diplomats.

He noted that the curriculum possesses significant quality and has the ability to develop the employment industry with full participation of Nigeria to address the issues graduates encounter upon completion of higher institutions.

The Secretary emphasized that the curriculum is of great quality and has the potential to expand the employment industry with full Nigerian involvement.

He said, “The notable quality of these curricula, I am proud to state, is that they are industry-driven; developed and/or reviewed with the full participation of the Nigerian industries to address the employability problems that are often encountered by our diplomats upon graduation. The problem of employers of labor incurring additional cost to retrain our products in order to fit into their operation is hopefully being solved.

“Similarly, considering the peculiar type of training that should be given to Polytechnic and Monotechnic students and in line with the national objective of encouraging youths economic self-reliance, Entrepreneurship as a programme has, more than ever before, become one of the key features of the reviewed curricula.

“No less prominent is also the deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the delivery of these curricula, especially in ODFeL which relies entirely on ICT in its teaching and learning. This year we have signed MoU for collaboration with the Canadian Commonwealth of Learning to enhance our ODFeL delivery and train Polytechnic lecturers on quality assurance in ODFeL.

Bugaje noted that the National Council on Establishment (NCE), at its most recent meeting in Yola, approved the inclusion of some TVET courses into the Federation’s schemes of service due to the appeal of some of these curricula on a national and international level, particularly the National Innovation Diploma (N.I.D.).

He continues, “ Also, at the continental level, two African countries have shown interest in the quality of our system with Rwanda signing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) while Morocco is also in line to do so.