THE Home Economics Teachers Association of Nigerian (HETAN), Abuja Chapter, has advocated more students making deliberate choices of studying Home Economics, as one of their key subjects in school.
She said this is necessary because of the inherent skills and training it offers to students, with the capacity to make them self-reliant and financially independent upon graduation.
Speaking at the post-conference meeting in Abuja, the president of HETAN, Abuja chapter, Mrs Rifkatu Lami Yisa, called on parents and authorities, particularly secondary schools as well as agencies regulating the education sector, to encourage the enrollment of students into Home Economics subject, as a means of empowering youths for the future.
She appreciated government at all levels for their support over the years, stating that with the present economic challenges all over the world, skills acquisition is the best option and the easy path to poverty reduction in the country.
She emphasised the importance of Home Economics as a subject in the school curriculum, saying it has the capacity of becoming a Training Hub for skills acquisition in secondary schools.
Yisa urged parents to be intentional about their children studying Home Economics, both at the primary and junior/senior secondary education level, adding that in future, they (parents) would be glad they took the decision allowing their wards to become self-empowered economically.
“Students who are equipped with skills can stand up for themselves financially; they will be economically independent even after leaving secondary school.
“They will be able to sponsor their higher level education in their choice of institution of learning as a result of the skills they have acquired while in school.”
The conference was attended by over 60 Home Economics teachers across the six council areas in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), from primary schools, junior/senior secondary schools (both public and private) and from the Federal Government Colleges.
Papers were presented emphasising on the importance of Home Economics as a subject that impacts and moulds the younger generation into future entrepreneurs for the development of the family, society and the country at large.
It was noted that beyond learning a skill, Home Economics is a subject that teaches the essential techniques for home-making and society management.
In some of the practical sessions at the workshop, practicals were carried out on household articles with the use of left over pieces of fabric to construct foot mats, children handbags among others.
Some of the key arms of Home Economics include Foods and Nutrition, Clothing and Textile and Home Management respectively.
The association noted that the subject had the potential of grooming, training, and teaching an army of skillful individuals who would in turn become employers of labour, thereby reducing the unemployment rate in the Nation.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then