By Jacinta Nwachukwu
The Ladi Memorial Foundation has inaugurated Incentivised Schools Sewing Competition Project (SSCP) among schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to promote vocational education.
At the inauguration in Abuja, the Executive Director of the Foundation, Mrs Rosemary Ojochenemi said the aim of the programme was to strengthen stakeholders’ collaboration for vocational education and training.
Ojochenemi said this would be done through the Incentivised Pilot Schools Sewing Championship Project.
“Extra-curricular activities and every education supporting activities help to bring young people together to learn through play and also bring in other values for productivity to achieve the goals of national policy on education.
“Education is the driver of any economy and so to bridge the disconnect between education and other sectors requires that every individual stakeholder will contribute towards making the school the centre of development”.
According to her, the project is in three stages and every child between the age of 12 and 20 is eligible to contest and it is free.
She said that at the end of the competition, the school that came first would be given 15 sewing machines; the second position would have 10 while the third would be given five.
She said that the idea was to strengthen vocational training in schools.
“For individual contestants; the winner will have industrial sewing and weaving machines, and the second position will have manual sewing and manual weaving machines.
“While the third position will get one manual weaving machine and they will also be certified,” she said.
She, therefore, appreciated all the stakeholders for their various support in the programme.
Similarly, Prof. Idris Bugaje, the Executive Secretary of, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) while expressing the board’s support for the project towards promoting skills among young children, commended the Foundation.
“This is very remarkable, we are already directing every technical school to set up a skills training centre.
“Also we are trying to ensure that every graduate of National Diploma or Higher National Diploma has at least one certified skill.
“So that when they graduate, if their academic qualifications do not give them a job, they will be able to earn with their skilled qualification.
“I hope this project gets to every school, not only in the FCT, but across Nigeria. Sewing is one of the most important skills in human civilisation,” Bugaje said.
On his part, the Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Opiah said that skills acquisition,vocational training and empowerment were top priorities of the present administration.
“The initiative is a project that is basic to building and sustaining individual and societal development, thereby leading to a new narrative or productive, innovative and efficient functional citizens”.
Opiah commended the efforts of management of the Foundation for its innovativeness in initiating the championship in public schools.
According to him, Nigeria stands the risk of being left behind if the youths are not exposed to future opportunities in empowering their environment.
“Hence, a forum like this is for the discovery of creative skills, attitudes and competencies necessary in converting the abundance of non oil resources into wealth, which is a sure way of turning the economy of our country around,” he said.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Masudur Rahman said that it was imperative to promote vocational training of the young ones because they are the future of the nation.
“Investing in children in the school to know the techniques of sewing will go a long way to revolutionize the garments and textile industry in the country”.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)