Education expert urges FG to overhaul TVET, adopt Japan’s model

An education expert and international scholar, Omolola Olajumoke Oladeji, has called on the Federal Government to urgently overhaul Nigeria’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system, warning that the country risks wasting its growing youth population if current education policies are not matched with practical reforms.

Oladeji, who is currently pursuing an MBA in Accounting at New Mexico Highlands University in the United States, made this known while presenting findings from a comparative study of Nigeria and Japan’s education systems.

She noted that Japan’s consistent investment, industry-aligned curriculum, and deep cultural respect for vocational education offer critical lessons for Nigeria.

According to her, despite policy declarations, Nigeria’s centralised curriculum has failed at the implementation stage due to poor funding, weak teacher training, and a disconnect between school learning and the labour market.

“Japan’s TVET model is not seen as a last resort but a respected path to success.

“There, vocational education is tightly linked with industries that guarantee jobs for graduates. In Nigeria, it is still viewed as second-class, and that mindset must change,” she said.

Oladeji, a former Financial Accounting teacher with the Oyo State Teaching Service Commission and recipient of the prestigious Japanese Government MEXT Scholarship, emphasised that Nigeria’s education system remains heavily theory-based, with schools under-resourced and practical skills underemphasised.

She urged policymakers to draw lessons from Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), which she said has shown that long-term planning, regular curriculum updates, and respect for teachers can transform an education system.

“The most significant lesson is that education in Japan is deeply rooted in culture and national pride. It goes beyond policy documents; it is a shared societal value,” Oladeji added.

She advocated for a public-private sector partnership to modernise vocational schools, retrain teachers, and offer structured internships that would make technical skills more attractive and directly relevant to industry needs.

“If Nigeria fails to fix its education system, especially its approach to TVET, its youth bulge will become a burden, not an asset,” she warned.

The scholar also stressed that education funding must be treated as a strategic investment, not an afterthought, adding that without deliberate reforms, the country risks socioeconomic stagnation.

Oladeji maintained that while Nigeria cannot simply replicate Japan’s education model, it can adopt its core principles, consistent funding, curriculum-labour alignment, teacher empowerment, and cultural respect for vocational education, to drive meaningful transformation.

ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE