Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Suleiman Bogoro, says for Nigerian polytechnics to thrive, they must focus on manpower development for teaching and practicals.
He said this in Abuja Wednesday at a two-day capacity building workshop for public polytechnics, with the theme ‘Improving Skills Development in Nigerian Polytechnics for Economic Growth, Entrepreneurship and Social Inclusion.’
He said: “Our polytechnics appear to be missing this very important requirement. Without these relevant teaching skills our polytechnics can only turn out graduates with certificates but regrettably, without technical knowledge or skill.
He said polytechnics lecturers must acquire relevant teaching skills to impart the required industry-tailored knowledge to students.
He also charged Nigerian polytechnics to give industrial training/attachment all the seriousness it deserves for any meaningful progress to be made on the delivery of their mandates.
Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education, Idris Bugaje, decried the low skills content in polytechnics, stating that at National Diploma and Higher National Diploma, the level of skills content is depreciating.