House of Representatives has expressed its determination to make the alternative education sector a credible pathway for lifelong learning and employment generation through an effective legal framework.
Chairman, House Committee on Alternative Education, Alhaji Ibrahim Almustapha Aliyu, stated this during a one-day public hearing on four bills seeking to establish vocational and skills acquisition training centres across different parts of Nigeria.
Alhaji Ibrahim Almustapha, explained that the public hearing was designed to gather experts and stakeholders’s input for effective implementation towards promoting entrepreneurship, and strengthening Nigeria’s human capital base through practical education.
According to him, vocational training and entrepreneurial skill acquisition are fundamental drivers of national development stressing that Nigeria’s youthful population remains a valuable asset that must be empowered through skills training and alternative education for self-sufficiency and national progress.
The committee Chairman, however, commended the foresight of the Speaker Dr Abbas Tajudeen, for establishing, for the first time, the Committee on Alternative Education to bridge the gap for millions of Nigerians without access to formal education.
In a message to declare the public hearing open Dr Abbas Tajuddeen, said alternative education is the brain child borne out of necessity emphasizing that vocational, technical and entrepreneurship is the needed bridge between educational qualifications and skills for national development.
The four bills under consideration include A Bill for an Act to Establish the South East Institute for Vocational and Entrepreneurial Studies, A Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal Institute of Technical Education and Skills Acquisition in Imo state.
Others are A Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal College of Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition, Ilorin West, Kwara State and A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Institute for Vocational and Entrepreneurial Studies, in Ondo State.
The public hearing brought together key stakeholders from government, academia, industry, and professional bodies to deliberate on the proposed legislative frameworks aimed at boosting technical education and youth empowerment.
COV /TSIBIRI
