9 December 2008
Lagos — A total of 146 instructional materials and books are being developed by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) with assistance from UNESCO for seven programmes in the nation's polytechnics.
Executive Secretary of NBTE, Dr. Nuru A Yakubu who disclosed this at the closing ceremony of the National Workshop on the Development of Instructional Material/Books for New TVE Curricula in Kaduna said the programmes were at the National Diploma (ND) level as a pilot scheme.
NBTE's Spokesman, Lawal Hafiz said in a release that the programmes and number of courses under the current exercise are: Civil Engineering (25 courses), Mechanical Engineering (20 courses), Electrical/Electronics Engineering (21 courses), Science Laboratory Technology (28 courses), Building Technology (19 courses), Quantity Surveying (13 courses) and Computer Science (20 courses).
Yakubu said these would only provide a test case while a set of other programmes would follow immediately and that eventually, materials would be developed for all Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) programmes run by the Board. He expressed optimism that the effort would address the critical issue of dearth of books and publications for effective teaching and learning of newly revised curricula in the TVE system.
While revealing the rationale the exercise, the Executive Secretary who also doubles as the National Project Coordinator of the UNESCO-Nigeria project for the Revitalisation of TVE, said the Board, after developing new curricula for TVE, found that books and publications that address the issues raised by the revised curricula were in short supply.
"The few that are available are mainly imported and beyond the reach of most staff and students and in many cases not suited to our local situation", he noted, pointing out that most publications available did not also specifically treat topics relevant to the revised curricula.
He said some 57 curricula at various levels had been reviewed while about 9, 000 staff in the TVE sub sector had been trained under the UNESCO-Nigeria TVE project; while six new staff Development Centres had been established as part of the on-going capacity building programme in the sub sector.
The UNESCO Lead Consultant for the project, Dr Hashim Abdulwahab who led the team of one Nigerian and six international consultants to the two-week event, described the exercise as a milestone in the history of the development of TVE, not only in Nigeria ,but Africa and developing countries as whole. He said the exercise was a proof that Nigeria could be self-reliant in book production and according to international standards.
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