In a renewed push to revamp vocational and technical education, kakalistiq.com reports that the Lagos State Government has reiterated its commitment to expanding access and creating more opportunities for youths through technical colleges across the state.
This was revealed by the Lagos State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Hon. Jamiu Alli-Balogun during the Lagos Youth Skill Day aimed at highlighting the importance of skills acquisition in today’s fast-evolving economy.
The event, held yesterday at The Events Center, Ikeja, brought together students from the state’s five existing technical colleges, as well as other stakeholders to reflect on the gaps still to be filled in the state’s technical education drive.
“Just like observed in the event, we only have students from our five technical colleges but if we’re to have any others around, we’ll have students from the regular senior secondary school. We’ll have representation from the youths through CDCs and CDAs and the local government as well as traditional rulers,” he said in an interview with Pressmen.
He, however, pointed out a major gap: the lack of adequate awareness among parents. “The missing link is for us to enlighten our parents because most of them doesn’t want to come with the reality that that is what we needed for our economy to boom and be in competitive advantage with others across the globe,” he added.
In line with the IBILE model, a geographical framework representing the five divisions of Lagos, the state government plans to expand the reach of technical colleges using available infrastructure in secondary schools.
“The Governor is highly committed and passionate about that and he has promised that he will do that before his tenure ends,” he said, while revealing plans to upgrade Keke High School in Agege. “We want to upgrade Keke High School because they have the capacity, the departments readily on ground but it’s just for us to leverage it and bring it to board so that they can be part of technical colleges in Lagos State.”
According to him, the enlightenment program served as a platform to emphasize the critical role of technical education in empowering young people with practical skills that can lead to self-reliance and economic contribution.
“It’s an enlightenment program that centers on the importance of skills in our society and from the few of technical education colleges Lagos we have shared ideas and brainstormed and really enlightened the people around on the importance of technical education that has to do equipping the younger ones and empowering them to be self-employed and to also contribute their own quota to the economic growth and the industrial development of Lagos State as a whole,” he explained.
Speaking directly to parents, he appealed for a mindset shift, noting that a combination of academic and technical skills is fast becoming the global standard.
“They won’t be liability to their parents. They’ll be ready to go out there to work or be worked for. That is the essence of technical education and it is imperative all over the world right now,” he said.
He concluded by encouraging parents to take advantage of the federal government’s tuition-free technical education program, which not only trains students without cost but also provides stipends to support their learning.
With these moves, the Lagos State Government is not just talking skills, it is setting a clear agenda to prepare its youth for the future.
