Kaduna to train technical teachers in Germany —Commissioner

A S part of efforts to boost technical education in the state, the Kaduna State government is planning to send its technical teachers to Germany for training.

This was disclosed by the state’s Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Andrew Nok, at the end of a five-day practical skills training for technical teachers in Kaduna recently.

Nok said the teachers would be trained in automobile mechanics, electrical electronics, engine building, vehicle services and maintenance, among others.

He said that a memorandum of understanding would soon be signed with the German government to make it a reality.

The commissioner said the step would ensure that technical teachers in the state are well equipped to provide quality practical skills training to their students.

Nok said that the just concluded training to improve the practical skills of technical teachers was one of many efforts designed to boost technical education in the state.

He added that plans had been concluded to address the challenges affecting technical education in the state such as poor facilities, obsolete equipment and lack of consumables needed for practicals.

According to him, technical education is key in achieving sustainable development, and that the state would do everything possible to exploit the potential of technical education.

He said: “Our desire is to utilise the potential of technical education to address the problem of unemployment by building an army of technically skillful youths to bridge the manpower gap in the technology sector.

“We are currently renovating our schools and equipping them with the needed facilities to ensure quality.

“In no distant time, our technical colleges will be renovated and equipped with modern equipment and facilities to ensure practical-based teachings.

“We want our automobile mechanical students, for example, to be able to fix and service government vehicles, and electrical electronic students to be able to fix mobile phones. I assure you we shall get there.”

Earlier, participants at the training, in a communiqué read by the chief facilitator of the training, Alhaji Audu Gambo, decried the poor state of workshops in technical colleges and secondary schools in the state.

They pointed out that most technical colleges and secondary schools in the state did not have functional workshops, and that those with functional workshops had obsolete and dysfunctional equipment and machines.

They, therefore, urged the state government to renovate and equip schools’ workshops with the needed facilities to boost the quality of technical education.

They equally said that the existing five technical colleges in the state were not enough, and recommended that 18 more be established, such that each local government area would have a technical college to improve access.

Participants also advised the government to prioritise gender-friendly vocational trades to give more opportunities to girls who have flair for emerging gender-sensitive trades.

“There are emerging trades some of which are gender-friendly, namely catering, fashion design, garment, tailoring, printing, cosmetology, information and communication technology and many others.

“Some of these trades should be introduced in the existing colleges and those to be established in the future,” they said.