Lagos – The Director, Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Child Uwaezuoke says there is need for the establishment of more Federal Science and Technical Colleges (FSTCs) in all states of the country to facilitate techninogical advancement..
Uwaezuoke said this at the annual Speech and Prize Giving/Valedictory service of the Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba on Saturday in Lagos.
According to him, the establishment of more of such institutions would boost the nation’s quest to promote technological advancement of the country.
“Currently, we have just 21 of such colleges in the country; these are not enough for a country that is striving to become one of the 20 economies in today’s technology-driven world.
“We have yet to get to where we are supposed to be when we talk about technical education.
“We are still making progress toward attaining that vision. We are aware of the pressures that is on our Unity colleges, especially on infrastructure.
“There should be consideration for the expansion of the facilities by establishing more of the colleges in order to ease such pressures and to create more spaces for access of quality education for the Nigerian child,” he said.
The director noted that there was still a lot of work to be done in sensitisation and advocacy on the importance of technical and vocational education.
He said that parents should realise that any child that has passed through that branch of education would not be considered inferior to those that would have passed through the conventional form of education.
According to him, there is the need for all hands to be on deck in order to ensure implementation of the National Policy on Education with regards to the teaching of Science, Technical and Vocational subjects.
He urged those to graduate to put their best forward as they step into the larger society, urging them to contribute their quota toward the development of the economy, no matter how small.
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Earlier, in his welcome address, the Principal of the College, Rev. Chris Ugorji said that no fewer than 625 students would graduate from the two arms of the institution, the Science and Technical arms.
Ugorji said because of the peculiarity of the transport situation in the state, the college would appreciate if staff quarters could be provided the staff of the college, by government and other concerned stakeholders.
He said the move would assist in increasing the number of resident staff in the college.
“If this is done, it will invariably boost the smooth running of the college in academics as well as help to curb students’ indiscipline, occasioned by activities of the day students,” he said.
The principal added that in spite of the numerous achievements of the college, it was faced with other challenges, such the need for more furniture and classrooms..
He said that many of the machines in the college’s technical workshop were obsolete and stressed the need for their replacement.
Ugorji explained that personnel in the technical sections were inadequate, saying there was a shortfall in the services of workshop attendants.
He said that there was also the need for the training and re-trading of teachers in the college, especially in the technical sections.
According to him, this will enable them to use modern technical equipment and machines in line with modern trends.
He said that this could be realised through the government’s public private partnership (PPP) initiative.
The principal noted that the college had already entered into partnership with some technical, engineering and digital-biased companies to enhance technical skills acquisition and computer literacy among staff.
The Director, Technology and Science Education, Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs Rosetta Isiavwe, said the ministry was aware that only few countries could achieve development goals of economic diversification without challenges.
She said that many developed nations were able to achieve so much because of science and technical education, stressing that it remained the key to national transformation.
Isiavwe said that the country currently depended on researches by other countries, saying that it was time to look inwards. (NAN)
