The Ondo State Commissioner for Budgeting and Economic Planning, Mr. Emmanuel Igbasan, has said his state is interested in partnering with Delta State to promote technical and vocational education.
He made this known when he paid a working visit to Delta State Ministry of Technical Education, alongside the Commissioner for Education, Mr. Femi Agagu, and other officials of the state.
Mr. Igbasan said the visit was to understudy how technical education was being run in Delta State.
He revealed that he watched the commissioning of Delta technical colleges on television and was impressed, saying that the unemplyment rate of youths at 41 percent in Nigeria was unacceptable.
He said that technical and vocational education would emancipate Nigeria economically.
He added that If the youths could acquire relevant skills, it would help in reducing the over dependence on white collar jobs and curb unemplyment.
“We have five functional technical colleges in my state; we want to work towards a hybrid curriculum where we can infuse the conventional curriculum and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) curriculum,” the commissioner said.
He commended Governor Okowa for his giant strides in the promotion of Technical and Vocational Education in Delta State.
The Delta State Commissioner for Technical Education, who was represented by the Functioning Permanent Secretary in her Ministry, Mr Dumebi Onwuka, led the delegates round the Model Technical College in Asaba where he lauded the Ondo State Government for its initiative in promoting Technical Education and for finding Delta a worthy destination for emulation in the development of the specialised education subsector.
He said the Okowa Administration had continued to prioritise Technical Education because the 21st Century economy had continued to be driven by technological advancement.
