The Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Professor Idris Bugaje, has said Nigeria can become another China if the federal and state governments support the 38,000 Panketa apprentices in Kaduna who are currently learning different informal skills.
Professor Bugaje stated this, in Kaduna on Tuesday at the graduation of 23 Panteka Artisans who acquired National Skills Qualification (Level 3) through Recognition of Prior Learning at the Centre for Technology Development at Kaduna Polytechnic.
He charged the states and federal governments to support the informal skill sector to achieve the said objective and to reinvent Nigeria, sustain a good future for the youths of the country, create wealth and employment, and most importantly self-reliance in technology.
“Kaduna and the Federal Governments should please move swiftly to re-engineer and re-invent Panteka, the largest informal skills hub in Africa, with over 38,000 apprentices, to enable it to become Nigeria’s ‘Little China’.
“With the current loss of value of the Naira against USD and difficulty in imports, Panteka can stem the tide of importation by replicating all those types of agro-allied and other machinery and products made in India or China, if only given the support. Panteka has now become a BRAND signifying hard work, invention, innovation, conversion of waste to wealth, employment generation and poverty alleviation.
“Let’s, therefore, recreate other Panteka’s across our Local Governments or at least the Senatorial Districts after fully propelling up the mother Panteka to its full potential. With this Nigeria can recolonize Europe through export of technical skills manpower like the Indians did and now and Indian is British Prime Minister. Nigeria can do the same.
“We call on the Federal Government to create a funding agency to support Panteka and other informal skills sectors that have the potential to reinvent our nation and sustain a good future for the youths of this country, creating wealth and employment, and most importantly self-reliance in technology.
“Trader money’ and other political interventions have little sustainable impact. Let’s instead channel those funds to a National Skills Development Fund (NSDF) to be created to support the informal skills sector,” Professor Bugaje said.
Earlier the Rector of Kaduna Polytechnic, Dr. Suleiman Umar said the Polytechnic offered to train 70 artisans to acquire the NSQ Level 3 Qualification in their respective trades as a corporate social responsibility, at no cost to the artisans or the Panteka Association in 2021, having resolved to key into the National Skills Qualification Framework that was approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria and coordinated by the National Board for Technical Education.
According to him, “the artisans were trained in the seven trades; ten each in Masonry, Plumbing Installations, Carpentry and Joinery, Welding and Fabrication, Painting, Tiling and Decorative Stonework and Electrical Installations. Plumbing installation recorded the highest number of graduates with 9 out of 10 graduated. On the other hand, none of the artisans in welding and fabrication were able to graduate.
“All those that were able to graduate are eminently qualified to handle their respective trade specialization effectively.
” It is the mind of the Polytechnic to support the artisans with equipment and tools that are either too expensive for them or rare to facilitate their otherwise tedious and sometimes unconventional production processes.
“Hence the decision to call on all the stakeholders to support this initiative for the overall development of our youths and make them self-reliant. The Polytechnic is on the verge of completing the Skills Equipment Centre whose equipment and tools shall be available to the Panteka artisans on demand,” the Rector said.
. TheWitness
