Tunji Wusu –
Prof. Idris Bugaje, executive secretary of the National Board for Technical Education, claims that the slogan of the board, “Skills not Degrees,” aims to motivate young people in Nigeria to place a greater emphasis on developing skills than diplomas.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday in Abuja, Bugaje provided the clarification.
He claimed that the public’s assumption that the NBTE was favoring technical and vocational education and training above university degrees necessitated the clarification.
The NBTE’s slogan, “Skills not Degrees,” refers to the idea that Nigerians should place a greater emphasis on developing their talents because the world needs them.
In other words, you can find a really nice job if you have a skill without even a degree.
“However, without the right abilities, a Bachelor of Science or any other form of degree won’t go you very far. You won’t find a job. The essential message is that, he said.
Regardless of the type of degree or higher education they possess, the executive secretary urged Nigerian youths to focus on skills training to gain skills qualifications.
He contends that it is skills that will make Nigerian young more employable on the international labor markets and more relevant to industry demands.
“So basically, that’s the message,”
The head of NBTE also argued in favor of dual degrees, where colleges simultaneously grant bachelor’s degrees and National Skills Qualification degrees to encourage skilled labor for independence.
He added that universities should make their industrial work experience program for students more useful so that students could learn the skills required for self-employment.
In addition to awarding the National Diploma, Nigeria Certificate of Education, and Higher National Diploma, he emphasized the necessity for polytechnics and Federal Colleges of Education to implement skills programs.
He claimed that failing to do so would make the prospects for graduates of polytechnics and colleges of education poor.
A paradigm shift toward entrepreneurship and skills has emerged, with talent serving as the universal labor currency for the economies of the twenty-first century, according to him.
According to Bugaje, the HND to B.Sc. top-up program was created to help HND holders advance their careers and education.
The one-year top-up program, which could be applied for online https://topup.nbte.gov.ng, to upgrade an HND certificate to a bachelor’s degree, was announced by the NBTE on August 14, according to NAN.
According to Bugaje, the move will lessen the country’s suffering among HND recipients.
He noted that HND holders have endured hardship for many years and added that efforts to eliminate the contrast between HNDs and bachelor’s degrees had been futile.
He emphasizes the necessity for them to advance and pursue master’s and doctor of philosophy degrees, saying that the HND reflects the best outcomes of the Polytechnic system.
