Technical Colleges’ Students To Receive N45k Monthly Stipend

There is good news for technical Colleges’ students in the country: the Federal Government has approved a monthly stipend of N45, 000 for them.

The monthly stipend is coming as part of the Federal Government’s moves to make learngn at that level of education better.

The initiative was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, during an interview with NAN in Abuja.

Professor Bugaje said the initiative would fast-track the development of technical education and expand student enrollment at the sub-tertiary level.

“With this, young people will find it more attractive to come to a technical college, acquire skills qualifications, get jobs locally and even beyond the borders of Nigeria.”

“This way, the whole sector is being repositioned. We are at the moment facing what you may call either a resurrection or a rebirth of TVET,” he said.

Other Incentives For The Technical Colleges

• Beyond the N45,000 monthly stipend, Bugaje said the government would also:
• Cover teaching fees for students
• Pay industry-based supervisors, known as “master class” instructors, where students undertake industrial attachments
• Finance the cost of skill certification for students.
• N120 billion grant for TVET students

The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector in the country is considered vital to the meeting of its manpower needs as it concerns technological and engineering development.

Professor Bugaje, said the stipend aimed at encouraging more young Nigerians to choose technical education over conventional university degrees, especially given that the once vibrant sector early post indiependence has suffered years of neglect.

“During colonial days and the early part of our independence, TVET had received attention.

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“But, since the 1980s, we have been going down the drain. That is why the number of technical colleges has dropped, from 129 at the moment, compared to 15,000 senior secondary schools in Nigeria,” he said.

He said the Tinubu-led administration had approved a N120 billion grant to support the new TVET programme, and that this would be disbursed through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

“The N45,000 is not a loan, but a grant. Students who enjoy this are not going to pay back.

“We want to encourage more people to enroll in technical education,” he said.

To ensure sustainability, Bugaje noted that the Minister of Education is spearheading efforts to pass a legislative bill that would establish a National Skills Fund under a new Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).

“This was an idea we have been talking about in the past years, but the new minister has taken it up.

“The bill shall soon be presented in the National Assembly to establish the Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework and under it, the National Skills Fund.

“The National Skills Fund will continue to fund TVET institutions, not only those in government colleges, but also those in the private sector,” he stated.