The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman has commended the drive of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) in research, innovation and development, revealing that the Federal Government planned to establish about 24 Skill Centres across the country.
The commendation was given when the Minister paid an inspection visit to Innova8 Hub Abuja in company of the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono.
During the visit, the Minister was shown round numerous landmark projects by TETFund-sponsored scholars, who have been able to convert ideas into innovations and products.
Some of the innovations displayed during the visit included Drone Technology Communication, Hearing Aid, Printed Circuit Board (PCB), Arduino programming, locally made brake pads among others.
“I am excited with the team work and spirit of innovation I have seen here today. We didn’t know this was here, especially in Abuja, just close to us. I will escalate it to the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, Ministry of Communication, and others”.
“It is in our plan to provide about 24 Skill Centres in the country, to capture out-of-school children and other adults with missed opportunities and too old to acquire formal education, we should recapture them”.
“This here is a major inspiration, and I really commend TETFund for bringing tertiary institutions together to Innova8 Hub, to convert ideas into products that will be available to Nigerians. I am going to be a chief advocate for this initiative, and escalate it to relevant Ministries and Departments to come here and see what is happening, we can leverage on this,” said Prof. Mamman.
Speaking further on the establishment of skill centres across the country, the Minister said “this move will give our students the needed skills, enable us to train unskilled Nigerians at the grassroots to contribute to the national economy. We will capture young Nigerians, especially those in IDPs, to empower them to have a means of livelihood.”
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono who led the Minister around the facility spoke about the collaboration between tertiary institutions and the informal sector to enhance learning, exchange of knowledge and robust experience, citing the collaboration between Yaba College of Technology and the Computer Village in Lagos, as well as Kaduna Polytechnic and Panteka in Kaduna.
