TVET: Reps demand accountability as Ministry enrolls 250,000 trainees out of 1.4m applicants

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education has demanded greater transparency and accountability from the Federal Ministry of Education over the implementation of the Federal Government’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) scheme.
The committee expressed its dissatisfaction on Tuesday during an interactive session in Abuja with the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, following six unanswered letters and two formal summonses issued to the ministry between January 2025 and August 2026.
Speaking at the meeting, Committee Chairman Rep. Fuad Kayode Laguda (APC, Surulere I Federal Constituency) stated that legislative oversight was being hindered by the ministry’s persistent communication breakdown.
“We wrote six different correspondences on the same subject matter requesting status reports on TVET’s activities and programmes, but we did not get any response from your ministry.
“Information is power. Having more knowledge about what is going on will aid us in carrying out our expected oversight duties,” Laguda said.
Laguda stressed that lawmakers require comprehensive details on the scheme’s full value chain, including funding allocations, training centre selection criteria, instruction quality, and post-training job placement strategies.
Apologizing to the committee, Dr. Alausa attributed the lapse to internal administrative failures following the transfer of the desk officer handling National Assembly correspondence, promising that an internal investigation had been initiated to prevent future occurrences.
Addressing the committee on the progress of the initiative, Dr. Alausa disclosed that over 250,000 Nigerians are currently undergoing skill acquisition across approximately 1,200 training centers nationwide.
He revealed that while the initiative recorded about 1.3 million applicants in its first enrollment drive and nearly 1.4 million in the second exercise, systemic funding and capacity constraints prevented full absorption.
To cushion costs and support training quality, the minister explained that trainees receive a monthly stipend of N30,000, while participating centers receive N50,000 per student to procure modern instructional equipment and retain qualified trainers.
“Before this administration came in, technical and vocational education was almost dissipated in our country.
“In a short three years, we have brought that back,” Alausa noted.
To ensure high-impact results, the ministry reduced the scope of trades offered from nearly 60 to 22 core priority areas, including solar photovoltaic installation, plumbing, fashion design, and electrical installation.
The minister further announced key policy interventions, including: “Free Tuition: Federal Technical Colleges and one selected state technical college per state have been made tuition-free, with the federal government absorbing instructional costs.
“Job Portal & Entrepreneurship Funding: Creation of a digital job-matching platform alongside ongoing collaboration with the Bank of Industry (BOI) to transition beneficiaries from job seekers to self-employed micro-entrepreneurs.
“International Partnerships: Capacity-building programs in collaboration with Singaporean technical institutions to upgrade the pedagogical skills of polytechnic and technical college instructors.”
Following a closed-door session with ministry officials, Rep. Laguda described the meeting as productive, noting that the committee was satisfied with the initial disclosures and would maintain continuous oversight to ensure public funds deliver measurable outcomes for Nigerian youth.