About 88,000 candidates are sitting for the 2022 ongoing National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) certificate examination nationwide.
Minister of Education who monitored the conduct of the NABTEB examination in some schools on Thursday in Abuja said government would continue to promote technical and vocational education for the rapid development of the country.
The Minister represented by the Director of Human resources in the ministry, Mr. David Gende said skills acquisition is what government is promoting to prepare youths for skilled work force that could take over the Nigerian business and Technical workspace.
“That is the way to go. And that’s where we are directing our students to go, those who cannot fit into other professional areas of their college. There are other sound options that we know are acceptable anywhere and it’s even contributing greater to the development of our country.”
Speaking on his observation on the ongoing NABTEB exams, the Minister said the students were encouraged to promote the culture of excellence so as to be able to defend their certificates.
“We are promoting the culture of excellence. Excellence doesn’t mean you must be the best, excellence simply means you can defend whatever you present anywhere and that was all that we want to see our students imbibe because the future is going to be tougher than what we are witnessing today.”
“The stage is bigger and they will be competing against others in other spheres of the world. So they should be able to start preparing themselves from now on. Preparing yourself simply means pushing yourself very hard so that you do your best. Whatever comes out, you should be able to defend it and present it for whatever wherever.”
The Chief Executive Officer of NABTEB, Professor Ifeoma Abanihe, said the Board since 2018 has been recording an increase in the number of candidates sitting for the exams.
She disclosed that for the 2022 exams, about 88,000 candidates applied to write the NABTEB exams nationwide.
“Starting from 2018, it was about 55,000 candidates, but this year you can see last year was 83,000 plus so there has been a steady increase in enrollment and I think it is because of the realisation that TVET is the way to go.
“In the world today there is need for skills acquisition there is need for empowerment in skills, self-reliance, and it’s at the bottom of development and that is why there’s more realisation that is a very, very crucial aspect of education,” she added.
She said that after the certificate, the students could choose to set up a business and be entrepreneurs or could further their education by going to a tertiary institution.
The Schools visited are Federal Science and Technical College, Orozo Abuja, and Government Science Technical College Garki. Abuja.
RN