The Federal Government has commenced the repositioning of the Monotechnic and Technical Education Board (MBTE) to strengthen Nigeria’s technical and vocational education and training system.
The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, said the move was aimed at making the board more effective in supervising and coordinating polytechnics, monotechnics and other technical institutions.
Alausa disclosed that the Ministry had constituted a team working with KPMG to conduct a comprehensive assessment of MBTE and develop a functional organisational structure and operational framework for the agency.
According to him, the exercise will identify institutional gaps and recommend changes needed to improve the board’s internal processes and its ability to deliver on its mandate.
The Minister stressed that the repositioning goes beyond administrative restructuring, describing it as part of broader reforms to make technical education more responsive to the skills needs of the Nigerian economy.
He said polytechnic education should be treated as part of the wider technical and vocational education and training ecosystem because of its focus on practical skills.
“Everything about the polytechnic is technical and vocational education and training. It is all about skills. We are simply discussing skills,” Alausa said.
As part of the reforms, the Federal Government is also reviewing polytechnic curricula and developing National Occupational Standards to ensure that technical training is better aligned with industry requirements, employment and entrepreneurship.
Alausa said the curriculum review, supported with ₦1 billion from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, produced 27 new National Occupational Standards and reviewed four existing standards, bringing the total to 31.
He said the standards would provide a clearer skills pathway from artisan-level training through National Certificate, Ordinary National Diploma and Higher National Diploma programmes.
Speaking on the assessment, KPMG Africa Partner and Head of Tax, Regulatory and People Services, Adewale Ajayi, said the review identified both challenges and opportunities within Nigeria’s TVET system.
Ajayi said about 93 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce is engaged in informal employment, while approximately 12 per cent of young people are not in education, employment or technical training.
He also disclosed that more than 55 per cent of the curricula assessed were outdated, including programmes in engineering, science, arts and design.
He identified funding constraints and the five-year curriculum review cycle as some of the factors contributing to the challenge.
However, Ajayi noted that Nigeria performs strongly in the employability of TVET graduates among the markets assessed, with only Singapore ranking ahead of the country.
The Federal Government said the reforms would strengthen MBTE’s oversight of technical institutions and ensure that students acquire practical competencies that can translate into employment, entrepreneurship and increased productivity.
Alausa said the ultimate goal was to establish a more efficient and responsive technical education system capable of supporting Nigeria’s human capital development and producing a skilled and globally competitive workforce.
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