TVET EDUCATION: FG to Pay N45,000 Monthly Stipend to Students of Technical Colleges in Nigeria

By: Olufemi Orunsola 

The Tinubu-led Federal Government, in a landmark move towards revitalizing Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Nigeria, has announced a monthly stipend of N45,000 for students enrolled in technical colleges across the country under a dedicated N120 billion grant in the new TVET initiative.

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that the Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on the second year administration of President Bola Tinubu.

The NBTE Boss revealed that the initiative forms part of a broader strategy to reposition the TVET sector and make it a more attractive alternative to traditional university education, noting that the N45,000 is not a loan but a grant.

Bugaje, who explained that the new policy aimed to fast-track the development of the TVET sector and expand enrollment at the sub-tertiary level, noted that it signals a major shift in government strategy to encourage skills-based education.

He also revealed that apart from the monthly stipend, the federal government would also cover teaching fees, pay industry-based supervisors (known as “master class” instructors) where students undertake industrial attachments, and finance the cost of skill certification.

In his words, "With this, young people will find it more attractive to come to a technical college, acquire skills qualification, 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.

Bugaje, who traced the origins of TVET hay days in Nigeria back to the colonial era, lamented that "since 1980s, we have been going down the drains. 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 however, expressed optimism in the realisation that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has chosen to take the bull by the horns, by introducing the new initiative, which he believes, would reverse the trend of neglect and apathy towards technical and vocational education, thus restoring the TVET sector to its former prominence in the educational scheme of affairs.

The NBTE Executive Secretary further revealed that the monthly stipend would be disbursed through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Bugaje said, "The N45,000 is not as a loan, but a grant. Students who enjoy this are not going to pay back," adding that the purpose of the grant was, “ To encourage more people to enroll in technical education".

Focusing on how the federal government intends to sustain the initiative, the Minister of Education is championing a legislative bill to establish a National Skills Fund under a new Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).

He made it known that the the bill is expected to be presented to the National Assembly in the near future, noting that once the bill is passed, "The National Skills Fund will continue to fund TVET institutions, not only those in government colleges, but also those in the private sector."