Speeches

Forum For Promoting Improved Positive Understanding And Wider Acceptability Of Technical And Vocational Education Training Among Parents

May 11, 2010 - Our dear parents, I welcome you all to this occasion organised to create a forum for us to meet minds on vital issues crucial to the progress of our state and rewarding to our youths.

An axiom says that good parents leave good heritage for their children and grand children. The only lifelong lasting heritage we can give to our young ones is education, coupled with the skills that will enable them to cope in any economic situation. This explains why we are here; to discuss and agree on the way forward in Technical and Vocational Education.

At the inception of this Administration, we resolved to give utmost attention to the development of free and qualitative Education that was handed over to us by the Administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Governor Emeritus. We are seriously committed to this course because it will be a catalyst through which prosperity will be achieved in our society.

We believe in the truism that Technical and Vocational Education is the bedrock of economic growth of any nation. We are poised therefore to reform the content of general education to make it more responsive to the socio-economic needs of this country, ensure that technological education is sound and practical enough to meet the growing needs of the economy.

In recent years, our policy on the deregulation of the Nigerian economy has unleashed many private sector-led service industries on the economy including telecommunication, information, communication, building engineering trade and commerce. They all require skilled middle and low level technicians. In essence, we owe it to this generation and the coming one to see to the development of skilled manpower in Lagos state. The inadequacy of skilled labour in the State has been impediment to our developmental programmes for instance, our massive urban development programme aimed at transforming Lagos into megacity.

On our part, we have secured 90% accreditation of all the courses being taught in all our 5 Technical Colleges and efforts are still going on to make it 100%. We have also rehabilitated all the Technical Colleges, built more classrooms, workshops and given facelift to the buildings that were dilapidated.

We have trained all our Instructors ranging from the School Heads to Unit Heads. We are happy to let know that The British Council through EPA Programme is helping us to achieve this.

On 16th of March, 2010, I officially perform the launch of Lagos Eko Secondary Education Project, a World •.sank assisted project which is aimed at improving delivery of teachers and enhance students' learning. This project also took care of t}le 5 Technical Colleges in our State simply because we want to give the opportunity of reaching the highest pedestal in life and calling to every of our children.

Also, we are repositioning our Technical and Vocational Education and putting more emphasis on the teaching of low and middle skilled acquisition courses such as Automobile Technical Courses, Welding, Building, Furniture, etc. With everything put in place, we have dialogued with the stakeholders, employers of labour to know the necessary input and curriculum that will meet their need so as to make the graduates of our Technical Colleges employable and give them the ability to start their own business.

This is why our parents come into the scheme. Parents are very important because all these ideas cannot be achieved unless our children are encouraged to attend. Gone are the days when only academics are highly revered and in the contemporary world, Education is purely acquisition of skills.

Parents influence on their children/wards choice of career cannot be underpriced. We have a role to playas parents to guide our children on the right way to go.

Our vision for Technical and Vocational Education in Lagos State includes:
• Providing career exploration and planning.
• Enhancing academic achievement and motivation to learn more.
• Acquiring generic work competencies and skills useful for employment.
• Establishing pathways for continuing education and Ilfelong learning.

I wish to impress it upon our parents that attending Technical Colleges would not truncate the vision of climbing to the pinnacle of academic pursuits or professional career attainment. Our Technical Colleges have been designed to handle subjects such as Physics, Mathematics and other core science subjects that could qualify them for admission into Universities apart from the NABTEB Certificate whichequally qualifies them.

The time has come for us to again realise that the days of white collar jobs are over. Now is the time to emphasise acquisition of practical skills that can make them successful entrepreneurs and less dependent on employment. They will become employers of Labour themselves.

This Vision is achievable if all our parents will see the urgent need to redirect our vision in career choice of our children to the acquisition of skills that will make life easier, and society better for all of us to live.

Thank you for listening and God bless you all.

Eko o ni baje o!

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State