The 4th annual conference of the faculty of vocational and technical education of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, with this years theme as ” Promoting Innovation and Research Towards Curbing insecurity Through Vocational Skills Acquisition for Sustainable Development in Nigeria”. The event which was held at the school of postgraduate study’s auditorium had in attendance, the vice chancellor of the university, who was represented by the head of St. Johns campus branch of the institution, Dr. Levy Kalabor, also present was Prof. Steven Offor, the dean of the faculty, Associate Prof. Isaac Ogundu, the head of department vocational and technical education, also present was Prof. Paulinus Okwelle, the keynote presenter at the conference, from the department of vocational and technical education from Rivers State University, dignitaries and students of the faculty.
Speaking to newsmen, Ass. Prof. Isaac Ogundu said, “the state of emergency should be declared on vocational and technical education especially in Rivers State and the first step is to constitute a board on vocational and technical education and let each local government area in the state have vocational college”
Continuing, Prof. Ogundu said, the theme for this years conference was motivated to curb crime and insecurity in the society. He said ” in this conference, we are addressing insecurity and the need to immersively employ people, we are thinking that, employability will be enhanced through skill development or acquisition.
The more people are skilled, the more they are likely to be employed. And we are advocating that there should be state of emergency declared on vocational and technical education in the state, and a board of technical education can be constituted, making each LGA have aothers. one vocational college where people can be trained in a sustainable manner rather than adhoc”
“So if we begin to engage the youths through massive skill development, even pay taxes to the government, they are likely going to be useful to themselves and to the society and they will turn around to be employers of labor, rather than being killed or killing others”
Prof. Ogundu said that vocational education encompasses Agriculture, home economic, computer education, technical education, building, mechanical and automobile, electrical and electronics, business education. He said, with the enhancement and establishment of vocational college in LGA’s in the state, peoples skill will be developed and current skills will be acquire.
In his keynote lecture, Prof. Paulinus Okwelle said, “that there is the need to foster entrepreneur skills, because entrepreneur is the key to vocational education”
He stressed that there is need to identify new skills for jobs of today as a teacher, there is need to develop new training resources for the new skills, also there is the need to form new synergistic ties between vocational training institutions and industries “
Insecurity to life and properties in Nigeria is a great concern to all, the greatest challenge to the security in Nigeria is abject poverty. Judging from the current development in Nigeria, the unemployment and poverty rate may escalate, there is need to promote and a way of curbing insecurity in Nigeria, he said.
