President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has advocated for a curriculum overhaul to boost skills acquisition and industrial development in Nigerian polytechnics.
Akpabio spoke through a representative yesterday at a retreat for National Assembly members, rectors, chairmen of governing councils and other stakeholders in Abuja with the theme: “Repositioning Polytechnics to Deliver on Nigeria’s Industrialisation.”
The retreat was organised by the Polytechnic Committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFund, in collaboration with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
Akpabio, who was represented by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, Dandutse Muntari Mohammed, spoke about the potential of polytechnics in driving innovation, drawing inspiration from global success stories like China and Europe.
He vowed to enhance polytechnic capacity with enabling laws for sustainable development in Nigeria.
“We want to improve the capacity of polytechnics in Nigeria so that they can be innovative and also create job opportunities for Nigerians.
“That is why the House Committee Chairman and I decided to hold this important retreat so that we can join hands with the leadership of the executive to ensure that under the Renewed Hope Agenda, we sustain employment opportunities and foster industrial development through the polytechnics,” he said.