By Adeola Kunle
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has launched a major repositioning of the Monotechnic and Technical Education Board (MBTE) to transform it into a stronger and more effective agency capable of advancing Nigeria’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system.
The initiative is designed to align the agency with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and strengthen its ability to supervise and coordinate polytechnics, monotechnics and other institutions under its mandate.
Alausa said the reform is intended to improve MBTE’s institutional capacity and ensure that technical education responds more effectively to the skills requirements of Nigeria’s economy.
The Minister disclosed that a team had been constituted to work with KPMG on a comprehensive assessment of MBTE. The exercise is expected to produce a functional organisational structure and operational framework capable of improving the agency’s internal processes and overall effectiveness.
According to him, the partnership with KPMG became necessary to ensure that MBTE is appropriately structured, both administratively and operationally, to provide the leadership, supervision and coordination required to strengthen technical and vocational education nationwide.
Alausa noted that the success of President Tinubu’s vision for technical and vocational education would depend largely on the effectiveness of the institutions responsible for implementing and supervising the system.
He therefore stressed the need for MBTE to become a strong, fit-for-purpose agency capable of providing effective oversight of polytechnics, monotechnics and other technical institutions while ensuring that they produce practical skills required for national development.
The Minister explained that the KPMG assessment was aimed at identifying institutional weaknesses and recommending improvements to MBTE’s organisational structure, internal mechanisms and operational processes.
He said the outcome of the exercise would provide a clearer framework for the agency, bringing its structure and operations into closer alignment with its statutory responsibilities and the Federal Government’s wider reforms in technical and vocational education.
Alausa emphasised that the initiative goes beyond administrative restructuring, describing it as a fundamental step towards repositioning MBTE to effectively drive the development of TVET in Nigeria.
He explained that the Ministry views polytechnic education as an integral component of the wider TVET ecosystem and believes it should be developed around a skills-focused framework.
“Everything about the polytechnic is technical and vocational education and training. It is all about skills. We are simply discussing skills,” the Minister said.
He added that this approach informed the ongoing review of polytechnic curricula and the development of National Occupational Standards aimed at making training more practical and closely aligned with industry requirements, employment opportunities and enterprise development.
The curriculum review exercise, supported by ₦1 billion from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), resulted in the development of 27 new National Occupational Standards and the review of four existing standards, bringing the total number of standards to 31.
Alausa explained that the standards are designed to create a clearer progression in skills development, covering the pathway from artisan-level training through National Certificate programmes to Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) qualifications.
He said the broader objective is to ensure that Nigerians who undergo technical education acquire practical competencies that can lead to employment, entrepreneurship and improved productivity.
KPMG Highlights Challenges and Opportunities
Providing an industry perspective, Adewale Ajayi, Partner and Head of Tax, Regulatory and People Services at KPMG Africa and KPMG in Nigeria, said the firm’s assessment identified significant challenges within Nigeria’s technical and vocational education system, as well as opportunities that could emerge from proper restructuring and investment.
Ajayi revealed that about 93 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce operates within the informal sector, while approximately 12 per cent of young Nigerians are neither in education, employment nor technical training.
Despite these challenges, he said Nigeria performs strongly in the employability of TVET graduates. According to him, only Singapore ranks ahead of Nigeria among the markets assessed, demonstrating the potential of TVET to produce graduates with skills relevant to labour-market demands.
Ajayi also called for increased attention to curriculum development, noting that more than 55 per cent of the curricula assessed were outdated. He said the affected programmes cut across areas including engineering, science, arts and design.
He attributed some of the challenges to funding limitations and the existing five-year curriculum review cycle, while identifying the recent update of the agriculture curriculum as a positive development.
Reform to Strengthen Skills Development
The Minister said the findings from the KPMG assessment, combined with ongoing curriculum and skills-development reforms, would provide a stronger foundation for repositioning MBTE into an institution capable of effectively driving technical and vocational education across Nigeria.
He said a restructured MBTE would be better equipped to supervise polytechnics, monotechnics and other institutions within its mandate, strengthen accountability and ensure that technical education keeps pace with the changing demands of industry and the national economy.
Alausa reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to developing a technical and vocational education system built around practical competence, industry relevance, employability and productivity.
He noted that the repositioning of MBTE forms part of the Federal Government’s broader efforts to make technical and vocational education a major instrument for human capital development and economic transformation.
The Minister added that the ultimate goal is to establish a more efficient, responsive and fit-for-purpose MBTE capable of fully delivering on its mandate and contributing to President Tinubu’s vision of a skilled, productive and globally competitive Nigerian workforce.
Adeola Kunle
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