The Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Muhammad Bugaje, has urged a complete reorientation of Nigeria’s education system to make it more functional and skill-driven as the global economy increasingly shifts toward practical competencies rather than paper qualifications.
Speaking during a national broadcast on Channels Television, Prof. Bugaje said that countries making rapid progress in industrial and economic development are those that focus on what their citizens can do with their hands, not just what they can recite from books. “World economies are driven by skills, by what your hands can do,” he said. “Nigeria cannot afford to be different. We must refocus our educational system to produce skilled hands, not just people with degrees or diplomas who cannot be employed or create jobs.”
He explained that functional education must combine both knowledge and entrepreneurship. “Today, we are doing the complete opposite, producing graduates with certificates who cannot create jobs or fit into industries,” he said, describing this as one of the major reasons for rising unemployment among young Nigerians.
Prof. Bugaje stated that the NBTE serves as the regulatory body for technical education and also acts as the secretariat of the National Council on Skills (NCS), which coordinates skills development nationwide.
According to him, the NCS is chaired by the Vice President of Nigeria and includes six ministers, seven state governors, prominent private sector figures such as Aliko Dangote, and several development partners. “This council drives the national skills agenda,” he said. “Since the current administration came on board, we’ve had nearly four meetings, more than what we had in the past eight years. That shows clear political will to reposition the skills ecosystem.”
Highlighting the importance of standardisation, Prof. Bugaje described the Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) as the foundation for all skills development efforts in the country. He said the NSQF recognises qualifications from Level 1 to Level 9, covering both formal and informal learning systems.
He noted that a vital component of the framework, called the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), allows artisans and technicians in the informal sector — such as roadside welders, carpenters, and tailors — to be formally assessed and certified. This system, according to him, enables them to gain access to more training, compete for national projects, and receive recognition across various industries.
“Our hope is that all skills training in Nigeria must align with the NSQF,” he said. “Currently, many ministries and agencies run training outside this framework, issuing certificates of attendance that are not worth more than the paper they’re printed on. We also see outdated foreign qualifications like City and Guilds being reintroduced, relics from the colonial era. Nigeria must own and promote its own national qualification system.”
He added that the NSQF has been acknowledged by the Head of Service and included in the Federal Scheme of Service, making it valid for career progression in the civil service. The private sector is also embracing it since it is driven by Sector Skills Councils led by industry experts.
Speaking on the country’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector, Prof. Bugaje described it as the foundation of industrialisation but lamented that it remains severely underdeveloped. He revealed that Nigeria has only about 130 technical colleges compared to over 15,000 secondary schools, which highlights the neglect of vocational education at the secondary level.
He stressed the need to expand technical institutions and ensure that polytechnics absorb graduates from these colleges for higher training. “The new Minister of Education is doing his best to reposition TVET,” he said. “But funding remains a serious challenge. The new TVET initiative was launched with about ₦70 billion, yet only ₦20 billion has been released. That is grossly inadequate.”
Prof. Bugaje also called for all skill training programmes, including those managed by the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Housing, and agencies such as NASENI, to be harmonised under the NSQF. According to him, this will ensure uniform certification and help empower Nigerian youth through practical training and entrepreneurship.
He spoke about the newly launched 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme and other federal training schemes, urging better coordination, monitoring, and evaluation. “Many of these schemes are rolled out with good intentions,” he said. “But we must interrogate them to ensure they are properly delivered. We’re talking about over five million trainees across the 3MTT, the New TVET Initiative, and the housing ministry’s NASENI scheme. That’s a huge opportunity, but only if well implemented.”
He advised that the private sector and civil society should play stronger roles in tracking programme delivery, adding that the National Council on Skills is working to improve oversight so that the programmes can truly benefit Nigerian youth and create sustainable employment.
Prof. Bugaje identified Nigeria’s neglect of technical and vocational education as a major cause of its slow industrial growth and dependence on foreign labour. “For over 30 years, Nigeria has suffered de-industrialisation,” he said. “New industries often import skilled workers because we lack the expertise locally.”
He cited the example of the Dangote Refinery, which employed thousands of foreign technicians during its construction phase. “At one point, there were about 11,000 Indian workers on that site,” he noted. “Even now, there are still around 2,000. You also find Indonesians and Filipinos doing underwater welding in the oil and gas sector. This is short-changing Nigerian youth.”
Prof. Bugaje recounted the story of a former bank manager who retrained in underwater welding and now earns over ₦1.5 million monthly, nearly three times his former salary. “That’s the power of skills,” he said. “Whatever degree you have, go and get a skill. It changes lives.”
Addressing concerns about the quality of local training, he said Nigeria now has the capacity to deliver over 80% of training needs domestically. Only a few highly specialised areas still require foreign input. “We must stop relying on foreign qualifications like City and Guilds,” he said. “They only encourage capital flight, as we must pay in foreign currency. The Nigerian Skills Qualification is already internationally benchmarked. We should be confident in it.”
He added that as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) expands, Nigeria should not only meet its internal skills demand but also export skilled labour to other African countries. “When we train our young people well, we can fill labour gaps across the continent,” he said.
Prof. Bugaje explained that many skilled Nigerians are already finding opportunities both locally and internationally. “There are millions of global openings for welders, drivers, healthcare assistants, and construction workers,” he said. “Bangladesh earns billions by exporting over 11 million skilled workers to the Middle East. Nigeria can do the same, but first, we must train our youth to global standards.”
He emphasised that exporting skilled labour should not be viewed as “japa” but as an opportunity for the country to earn foreign exchange, provided it is properly structured and regulated.
In his closing remarks, Prof. Bugaje proposed a major restructuring of Nigeria’s education system. “If I were to redesign it, I would convert half of our universities into polytechnics,” he said. “China converted 600 universities into technical institutions in 2017 to meet industrial demands. We should learn from that.”
He also suggested a new curriculum where 50 to 70 percent of the content is skills-based, regardless of the field of study. “Whether you study history or accounting, you must graduate with a skill qualification,” he explained. “Every student should have knowledge, skills, and character. That’s what functional education means.”
Prof. Bugaje further underlined the importance of reliable electricity supply to support small-scale industries, describing power as the backbone of technical productivity.
“Nigeria must realign with global best practices,” he concluded. “We must fix power, fund TVET properly, and make skills and entrepreneurship the heart of our education. That’s the only way to industrialise and create real jobs.”
