pannigeriannews 
The rector of Federal Polytechnic, Ayede, Oyo state, Dr Taofeek Abdul-Hameed, has stressed the need to strengthen technical education and vocational training as a solution to the growing rate of unemployment in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, a report by Jobberman in collaboration with Young Africa Works and Mastercard Foundation revealed that the number of unemployed individuals in the country has hit 23m.
Dr Abdul-Hameed, who was a guest speaker at the 10th valedictory service and commissioning of ZOE college citadel of Grace Annex, Ogbomoso, also added that Polytechnic and technical education are needed for the revival of industries.
The rector, in a release made available to journalists on Tuesday by the institution’s Corporate Communications Committee, noted that the dichotomy in certification of Higher National Diploma (HND) and Bachelors Degree is needless.
He noted that, rather, focus should be on functional input to national development and industrialisation.
According to him, “The secret of technological advancement of countries like China, Korea and Japan, for instance, is an emphasis on technical education and less glorification of certificates.
“The curriculum is filled with content needed to produce a desirable product in our various schools but implementation. There is an urgent need to take vocational and technical education very serious.
“In countries like Singapore and Japan, some technical-oriented individuals are seen earning far higher than those with high academic certifications ”, he said.
The Iwo-born scholar, however, recommended that the nation must return to technical and vocational education for it to win the war against unemployment and poverty, just as he emphasised that the “notion that those who go for vocational or technical education are less endowed should be discarded if we must move forward.”
“We must deemphasise the worship of certificates to the appreciation of results and positive impacts. Countries that make headway technologically, are focused on outcomes.
“We cannot continue turning out graduates a year in and year out without employment opportunities. We must direct our attention to productive, functional and technical education to mitigate against less productive graduates,” the rector submitted.
