FCET Provost advises Federal Government on Improving Technical Education

The administrative head of Federal College of Education Technical (FCET), Akoka, Lagos, Dr. Wahab Azeez has said it is imperative for Federal government to collaborate with private individuals to make technical education attractive, Siggy reports.

He also said members of the public should be sensitised on the importance of technical education.

Wahab stated that funding of technical education was huge, adding that government lacks the financial power to fund it alone.

Speaking at a news conference last week on campus, the provost noted that for technical education to be effective, modern equipment were required for training students.

He said: “Education is a social service all over the world. Thus, we need public institutions so that everyone can have access to qualitative education. Public institutions are essential, likewise private. It should be a mix of public and private.

“The funding of technical education is huge, such that no single government can fund it alone. It also requires modern equipment for students to be well-trained.”

The provost urged government to increase funding for technical education, adding that it was collaborating with foreign companies to train its students.

“Members of the public should know about technical education. We are discussing with companies in China for training for our students. We also intentionally established the Centre for Technical Education (CEFTED) so that anywhere in the world, people will know about the college programmes.

“We also invite experts to train our students. Recently, we invited a Professor from Texas to give a lecture on technical education. Fortunately, our students are also taking CEFTED courses seriously and they make extra money on their own,” he said.

The provost, who noted that the institution had experienced infrastructural upgrade, complained of being understaffed. According to him, Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System, IPPIS, was making it difficult to independently employ staff unless the Head of Service gives approval.

“Unions have been talking to government on IPPIS that if institutions are allowed to develop their own payment system, it makes them autonomous. We hope government sees reason and bring flexibility to the system,” he said.

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He, however, urged government to grant autonomy to institutions and let them develop their own payment platform.

Wahab said with the rich and robust curriculum being utilised by the college, more facilities were required to train staff for excellent service delivery.

Source: Siggy Campus News, thenationonlineng.net