Fed. Govt. Urged To Give More Attention To Technical Education
By Raymond Ozoji
The Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, Enugu State, Nigeria, has advocated that more attention be given to technical education in the country.
This call became necessary in view of the wide gap existing between university and technical.
The institution believes that if technical education sector receives as much funding as other tertiary institutions in the country, the crave and scramble for white collar jobs would be reduced drastically.
It also believes that adequate funding will help highlight emphasis placed on blue collar jobs where hand crafts and other forms of crafts breed wealth creators, entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals who would help grow as well as advance local and national economy.
The Admissions Officer of the College, Hon. Obinna Ezeano, who spoke extensively on the prospects and potential of the institution, explained that technical education is the core mandate of the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, and that graduates of the college are great ambassadors of the college in their various endeavours in the corporate world.
Ezeano, asserted that university education is not superior to technical education, stressing the need for federal government to address the dichotomy existing between university and technical education.
He expressed belief that the likes of Germany, China and some other developed nations leveraged on technical education to attain their current status in the global ratings.
According to him, Federal Cooperative College Oji River was one of the technical institutions in the country government should accord priority attention, in terms of funding and other forms of assistance, to enable it consolidate on producing Nigerians who will not only re-channel productivity to creative ideas, but also contribute to the promotion of local contents in the international market.
He further stressed the need for the federal government to build more skill acquisition centres across the 36 states of the federation so that graduates of most tertiary institutions can acquire hands-on training after school and toe the line of sole proprietorship thereafter if white collar jobs are not forthcoming.
He added that such opportunities for technical trainings in diverse areas of human endeavours are readily available at the Federal Cooperative College.
Affirming the position of the Admissions Office, the Internal Auditor of the College, Mr. Okeze Daniel Chukwudi, likened the school to a College of Medicine, where students are trained to be real professionals in their respective areas of specialisation.
According to Okeze, emphasis should be placed on technical education to enhance local content production, as well as encourage patronage of Made-In-Nigeria goods and services which would help create massive employments and reduce over-dependence on government jobs and appointments.
The Internal Auditor also pressed home the need for federal government to be genuinely serious and proactive in funding education.
According to him, it is evidently clear that the percentage allocated to education in the National Budget was grossly inadequate compared to the minimum standard globally.
The Internal Auditor intimated that in countries like China, cooperative colleges are given special attention as they produce middle and low level man power which he described as the core manpower that drives the economy.
Okeze, who observed that Nigeria is lacking in middle and low level human resource, maintained that the federal government should equip technical colleges across the country with necessary facilities and equipment that would enable them operate optimally in producing Nigerians with technical know-how to contribute their quota in the development and advancement of the Nigerian nation.
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