Foreign arstisans’ importation into Nigeria, shameful -COREN

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna 

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria ( COREN),recently has lamented the importation of foreign artisans into the country and described it as shameful.

Though, the council said the development was a shame to the professionals in the engineering sector, it announced its decision to address the situation.

To this end, the President of the council, Engr. Ali A. Rabiu inaugurated the Committee of Technical Colleges in Nigeria (COTEC), saying that COREN was committed to deepending its training and practice.

Represented by Professor Sadiq  Abubakar, Rabiu said: “The pyramid is supposed to be better than this. The craftsmen and technicians should be higher than Engineers. That is the pattern globally but  in Nigeria the reverse is the case.

“COREN in its wisdom took the bold decision and steps to correct that abnormality. So, the president of our dear council, has  asked me to welcome you and to tell you that the council has taken a decision against  all odds to make sure that we have the (Committee of Technical Colleges).

“As a nation, we can’t import Artisans from the neighboring countries to service us,that is the failure on our side. Not on the leadership but in this case, it is a failure on the professionals whether you are an engineer or a technologist, technician or craftsman. This is an issue that should concern all of us.

“COREN along with the four associations must join hands to ensure that we change the situation for better. We need to correct the pyramid and we need to make our profession more competitive.

On dearth of craftsmen engineers and techologists, he said: “This says a lot, the registrar had mentioned some but I can tell you that COREN is determined to deepending it in terms of training and practice in this country.

“Only yesterday, COREN signed a new reversed MoU with NBTE – National Board for Technical Education to deepend the accreditation of technicians and technologists. We are going to do the same with NABTEB– National Business and Technical Education Board to also depend class learn level. This is basically trying to address what I mentioned. We must be competitive”

In his address,  the Registrar of COREN, Prof. Joseph Odigure stated that COREN has regulated the education of Engineering and Technology programmes in the Universities and Polytechnics and gradually transiting from the traditional education system to Outcome Based  Education  (OBE) in Engineering Programmes.

Odigure noted that the education and practice of technicians and craftsmen have been relatively neglected, adding that the consequences of neglect are visible in the national economy.

He said: “There can be no sustainable development in the nation’s infrastructure if technical colleges are allowed to go extinct. COREN will leave no stone unturned to achieve this noble objective of bringing back the endangered technical colleges across the nation.”

He therefore called on all the states governors, members of the organized private sector and professionals in the built environment to contribute their quota in the salvaging situation.