The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) is an organ of the Federal Ministry of Education which is charged with the responsibility of regulating Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Nigeria. The Board was created by an Act of Parliament (Act No. 9 of 11 January, 1977) as a response to the federal Government of Nigeria realization of the need to develop a critical man-power base to execute the nation’s National Development Plans initiated in the 1970s.
Vision: The Vision of the Board is “To be a world-class regulatory body for the promotion of Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Nigeria”.
Mission: The mission statement of NBTE is “To promote the production of skilled technical and professional manpower for the development and sustenance of the national economy
History of the Centre: In December 2000, the Federal Government of Nigeria entered into an agreement with UNESCO on a project to Support the Revitalization of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Nigeria, (Phase I). The goal of the project was to assist the Federal and State education authorities in their efforts to revitalize, reform and expand TVET to meet the present and future needs, for rapid socio-economic development of the nation. The project was executed between 2001 and 2004 by UNESCO working closely with NBTE as the implementation agency on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The Phase 1 was instrumental to the first ever review of TVET curricula in the country, about 57 No curricula were reviewed and updated to international standards, as well as integrating industry needs and current technologies. These curricula and their formats are now being adopted by other ECOWAS countries.
Due to the successes recorded in the phase I, the FGN and UNESCO once more signed the agreement for the project “Support for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Nigeria- Phase II’’ on 17th July 2007. The goal of the project II’’ was to assist Government, specifically, the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and the NBTE, in their efforts to further strengthen the TVET system as part of the human resource and manpower development to meet present and future needs for rapid socio-economic development of the Nation. In particular, the second phase of the project was aimed to support the;
- enhancement of continuing TVET staff development system.
- improvement of the quality of content of TVE
- strengthening of linkages of non-formal with formal TVET to enhance employment of unskilled and illiterate youth.
Establishment and Mandate of NBTE Centre of Excellence
After the end of the project in 2010, the Management of NBTE, through the Governing Board established the NBTE Centre of Excellence for TVET to build on the achievements of the UNESCO project and to facilitate the capacity development of TVET personnel, to promote innovation and enhance partnership.
The Centre formally took off on 1st January 2012. Within the short period of its existence, the Centre had organized and dozens of national capacity building activities and actively participated in international conferences.
The Centre was admitted into the UNEVOC Global Network in 2012 and was appointed as the UNESCO-UNEVOC Cluster/Coordinating Centre (CCC) for the West Africa Sub-Cluster by the UNESCO International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (UNEVOC). The membership of the Centre was renewed for the period 2020 – 2023.
Functions of the Centre
- Continuing staff development for the TVET sector and capacity building for practitioners of TVET in Nigeria and the West African region;
- Support for the establishment of more Continuing Professional Development Centres (CPDCs) in the West African region;
- Collaboration and partnerships among technical institutions in the region and globally;
- Enhancing the speedy sharing of data in various areas of TVET across the Region and internationally;
- Serve as linkage for internal and external collaboration to promote TVET goals.
- Serve as an Awarding Body for registration of Quality Assurance Managers and a training Centre for the conduct of external quality assurance for verification and certification of graduates for the National Skills Qualification (NSQ);
- Coordinate all aspects of online programmes in TVET institutions in Nigeria including the Open, Distance Flexible and e-Learning (ODFeL) and monitor the implementation;
- Any activities that serve to facilitate the above key objectives or promote TVET generally.
For more info, visit www.web.nbte.gov.ng
