By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
The Registrar of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN),Engr Joseph Odigure, has bagged Icon Cynosure Societal award by National Association of Nigerian Students(NANS).
Receiving the award yesterday at the COREN headquarters in Abuja,Prof Odigure said he was surprised and honoured to receive the award.
He said, “We are all working for the good of the nation that is why COREN as an engineering regulation body is bringing new programmes and ideas that will help our youths”.
He explained that, among those programmes is the outcome based learning evaluators that will serve as creditors to universities, polytechnics and technical schools.
The Registrar said “It was very troublesome and worrisome to see numbers of engineering graduates looking for jobs after attending various tertiary institutions.
“We are also disturbed by the statistics when we find that about 62,000 are registered engineers, while we are having 5,000 technicians and the lower cadre less than thousands.
“It speaks of how we are not meeting up with what is required to train our youths. Moreover, in any organization or country,it is the lower rank that make the economy.
If this people are neglected, it means the educational standard will be faulty”,Engr. Odigure said.
He pointed out reasons why the council is reintroducing the out come based educational learning in engineering.
He emphasized that COREN looked deep down and picked the mode by which the South East people developed their youth by apprenticeship method of serving 3 to 4years.
“This mode of education is largely ignored and we have so many laboratories in institutions. Now we trained people in our tertiary institutions. This methods we imbibe has to do with character, skills and knowledge for students to learn”.
Meanwhile, he urged NANS to spread the gospel that students should learn skills in institutions.
Earlier, NANS President Abdul Mahmud, said the awardee was chosen carefully because of his outstanding records and contributions to the engineering sector and various institutions
in country.
Mahmud represented by NANs Zone B, Coordinator, Jeremiah Ohimeh stated that, “This award comes with a lot more responsibility and a call to do more. What you have been doing has distinguished you out of the crowd.”
