The Rector, Federal Polytechnic Monguno, Prof. Garba Muhammad Ngala has described polytechnic education as the way forward out of the increasing unemployment challenges facing Nigeria.
The Rector who disclosed this during an interactive session with Arewa PUNCH on Saturday in Maiduguri said vocational and practical education, which is the major purpose of polytechnic education, is the prerequisites for employment opportunities in the modern world
“Go to UK, you will be surprised that someone doing DeepSea Welding is earning more than a Professor. Where do you learn to do welding. It is in the polytechnic. Technology is in two aspects – the design aspect and construction aspect.
“Construction is always from the technicians and technologists which is in the polytechnic. The university engineer can only design for you on paper. It is the technician who goes ahead and executes the job. So, polytechnic education is the way forward.
“Look at the streets. We have a lot of graduates and even Ph.D. holders without work. They don’t have anything to do. It is not sustainable. The government can not employ everyone. The only way out is the learning of trade, and those trades are being taught in the polytechnic. In the UK, no one looks at degrees anymore. They look at what you can do,” Ngala pointed out.
According to him, most expatriates working in Nigeria are foreigners with less degree or educational qualification, despite the youthful population in the country.
“One of our challenges in Nigeria is lack of professionals. If you want to build a house, you will discover that the people who will come and do the tiling, POP, painting and welding are either from Cameron, Chad, or Togo despite our youth population. This is a slap on our faces. Is it that we can not do it, or what? Yet, we have so many young men on the streets doing nothing.
“We can train them and even export them. This is one area that needs urgent attention.”
However, the don revealed that the Federal Polytechnic Monguno is putting measures in place to address some of these challenges through concentrating on programs that will not just eradicate out-of-school children in Monguno, but lower the rate of unemployable graduates in the country.
“We have a lot of out-of-school children. Some sat for SSCE and didn’t pass, and some are yet to even register for it. Because of the scourge of insurgency, they abandoned the schools. So, we intend to capture the students through our remedial programs and then arrange for them to sit for their SSCE and Jamb. After that, they are at liberty to go anywhere.
“If they want to join us or further to other schools, it’s their decision. This is currently one of our areas of concentration. If these things are not done, it is going to be a time bomb
“We are also concentrating on vocational training and manpower development. You don’t need any educational certification to come and learn carpentry, bricklaying, and tiling. So, we intend to get these young men and train them in this trade.
“I’m sure, if we run things for some years, the issue of out-of-school children will be taken care of,” Ngala assured.
While alloying fears of prospective students into the polytechnic considering the security situation of the area, the Rector said, “Monguno is safe and ready to accommodate as many willing students as possible.