The House of Representatives Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education has expressed deep disappointment over the failure of the Federal Ministry of Education to respond to six letters seeking information on the implementation of the Federal Government’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme.
The Chairman of the Committee, Hon Fuad Kayode Laguda, disclosed this yesterday during a meeting with the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, who, for several months, refused to answer correspondence from his committee, as well as attend an earlier meeting convened some months ago by his panel.
The Committee Chairman further informed that his panel had repeatedly written six letters from January 2025 and July 2026 without receiving a singular response from the minister which prompted the issuance of a final summons in August last.
In his response, the minister of Education Tunji Alausa immediately apologised to the lawmakers stating that he had not personally received any of the correspondence in question.
The minister equally blamed the communication breakdown between him and the lawmakers on the transfer of a desk officer responsible whom he informed was in charge of receiving all National Assembly correspondences noting that he had directed his team to immediately investigate all circumstances surrounding his failure to respond to lawmakers letters.
Again, the minister also used the opportunity to acknowledge the legislature’s constitutional oversight responsibilities even as he overwhelmingly promised to cooperate with the lawmakers.
Speaking on the update of the TVET programme, the minister revealed that more than 250,000 Nigerians were undergoing skills training at approximately 1,200 centres across Nigeria adding that each trainee has receives a monthly stipend of ₦30,000, while participating training centres receive ₦50,000 monthly to support practical instruction and facilities.
He, however, explained that the programme had been streamlined from nearly 60 trades to about 22 priority areas, which include solar photovoltaic installation and electrical installation among others.
Latter, the lawmakers went into executive session with the minister after which, they expressed strong satisfaction with the answer provided by the minister.
The minster finally disclosed that the government was developing job opportunities and entrepreneurship support through a job portal and collaboration with the Bank of Industry among others across the country.