The history of technical education lies in the evolution of vocational education. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) opines that vocational education encompasses apprenticeship training specifically structured to boost productivity and development in technical or technological fields of human endeavours. Vocational education entails any system of learning designed to provide students with the opportunity to acquire knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for a specific craft or a series of trades. In theory and practice, vocational education differs from the conventional (formal) education system.

While formal education involves general and special subjects like english, mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, and history, vocational education involves classes structured to transfer hands-on skills to students. Thus, vocational education focuses on preparing students for a career beyond the classrooms/workshops. Unlike the conventional subjects in formal schools, vocational courses revolve around plumbing, motor mechanics, electrical fittings and maintenance, fabrication, carpentry, bricklaying, and cosmetology, among others.

Technical education shares distinct similarities with vocational education. It combines formal (conventional) and informal (vocational) learning processes. In technical schools, students combine general knowledge taught in formal schools with practical vocational knowledge taught in workshops to prepare for a career in applied science and technology.

Nigeria’s Technical Education: A Historical Overview

Education is an important aspect of human endeavour, and as such, it plays a role in individual and collective development and progress. The World Bank notes that education promotes social cohesion and economic growth, stimulates development and inventions, and fortifies institutions. According to the IZA-Institute of Labor Economics (IZA World of Labor), with one additional year of education, there is a 9% increase in earnings per hour. Likewise, technical education, among other things, leads to industrial development and technology integration, eventually increasing foreign direct investment (FDI).

Technical education began during the colonial period. However, before this time, the communities that formed Nigeria operated a vocational or apprentice education system. This system allows apprentices or students to learn a skill from craftsmen for a given period of time (usually 3–7 years), after which the trainee sets up a business of their own using the skills acquired from the master. With the coming of christian missionaries, formal schools were established across the country in strategic cities. However, when Nigeria became an official British colony, the missionaries handed over control of the formal education system, which they started in 1840, to the colonial authorities. 

The Colonial Administration infused technical education into the formal system through a new curriculum that introduced practical agriculture into school lessons and activities. Through the 1946 education policy, students were exposed to skill training within the schools and at designated trade centres. The policy led to the establishment of colonial training schools, technical institutes, trade centres, and handicraft centres that gave students and government workers the platform to acquire technical skills while studying or working in government establishments. Technical institutions were introduced primarily to empower technicians in government establishments with the theoretical skills needed in the various government establishments that were available then. The trade centres were charged with producing highly skilled craftsmen or artisans for the Nigerian economy. Apprentices were trained in skills relating to electrical, mechanical, and automotive engineering, welding and metalworking, and plumbing, among others. On its part, the handicraft centres were introduced to offer training on skills related to European industries in Nigeria to provide the indigenous manpower needed in those industries. Thus, students were taught skills and talents in a series of local crafts like smithing, metalwork, woodwork, pottery, and weaving, among others.  

At independence, Nigeria inherited a system of education that needed to be modified to meet the demands of a young, independent country. Consequently, in 1976, the national policy on education laid the foundation for the history of technical education in independent Nigeria. The seventh section, titled “Science, Technical, and Vocational Education,” referred to technical and vocational education as a system of education that is a vital part of general education for equipping students with the skills needed for professional jobs. A system of education that provides students with the skills necessary for obtaining lasting skills will aid them in acquiring a source of livelihood and wealth while making responsible citizens who have a chance at being elevated from the lowest strata of social status. 

In 1982, the Federal Republic of Nigeria introduced a 6-3-3-4 system of education intended to promote a technically competent economy. It was envisioned that 30% of students leaving primary schools would go on to enrol in technical colleges, 10% would be trained in trade and apprenticeship programmes, and the remaining 60% would continue their academic journey in conventional secondary schools. 

Additional initiatives to enhance technical and vocational education followed this development. Some of these include roadside apprenticeship, a vocational system of education that allows school dropouts to engage in apprenticeship. This system is similar to what exists in the informal sector, where apprentices learn the skills of a craftsman’s trade to create their own craft centre.

The Need For Curriculum Reform in Nigeria’s Technical Schools

From 1976, when the first national policy on education was introduced in Nigeria, its curriculum was structured to encompass general education, theory and related courses, workshop practice, industrial training and production work, small business management, and entrepreneurship training. The 1976 curriculum was, however, updated in 1982, when the 6-3-3-4 system of education was introduced. This development was intended to provide a self-sufficient workforce in technology, applied sciences, agriculture, commercial, and business endeavours, particularly at craft, advanced craft, and technical levels. 

By 1999, the failure of the system to achieve its aim was obvious, leading to the introduction of the 9-3-4 system. Consequently, the administration of vocational education was entrusted to the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). Unfortunately, just like what was observed with the 1999 policy, by 2004, agitations and advocacies led to the introduction of an updated policy. As a result, under the instruction of the federal government, the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council (NERDC) was charged with restructuring the existing curriculum to help students develop an interest in and skill in applied science and technology. The curriculum was also to help students apply their scientific and technological talents toward providing innovative solutions to the needs of society. In addition, the curriculum was structured to prepare students for higher education in science and technology and to expose and prepare them for career opportunities in science and technology.

The series of modifications led to the establishment of the following courses/subjects:

Courses Offered in Technical Colleges

Source: National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB)

Factors Affecting Curriculum Development in Nigerian Technical Colleges

The subjects available across the technical colleges in Nigeria are structured to produce students who can excel in the industrial or entrepreneurial sector. Also, the curriculum is structured to produce students who will eventually promote human resource development and create employment in the formal and informal sectors. However, in reality, the technical schools in Nigeria are barely surviving, and their existence and sustenance are threatened by each new day. The factors affecting the smooth achievement of the objectives of the curriculum in technical schools, among other things, include lack of funding, poor or absence of infrastructure for learning, and a lack of technical teaching staff.

Funding remains a major challenge in Nigeria’s education sector. Nigeria is yet to meet UNESCO’s 26% budget allocation recommendation for decades. From 2020 to 2024, the annual budget allocated less than 8% to the education sector. This has affected the amount of money available to the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to champion its efforts at promoting technical and vocational education in Nigeria. The budget that the NBTE received from the overall budget allotted to the education sector from 2020 to 2024 is shown in the chart below.

In addition to funding issues, the poor or absence of infrastructure for learning impedes the utilisation of the curriculum for effective learning. For efficient knowledge delivery in technical schools, the subjects should be structured to reflect 67% theoretical classes and 33% laboratory practicals. At the junior secondary level, pre-vocational subjects like agricultural science, business studies, computer science, crafts, fine arts (culture and creative arts), home economics, and introductory technology, among others, are introduced to prepare students for a specialised technical journey at the senior level. Like what is obtainable in technical schools, there are hardly adequate laboratory spaces for these subjects. This condition is heightened at technical schools, where most subjects are taken in improvised environments that do not provide students with the necessary structures to effectively grasp the subjects being taught. 

Furthermore, the staff available in most technical colleges lack adequate training to adequately transmit practical technical skills to the students. As a result, students are stuffed with theoretical knowledge without strong practical skills in the trades being taught. Also, teachers cannot scale up their theoretical skills at the university, a sector that unfortunately faces challenges similar to those faced by colleges. 

Conclusion

Technical education allows recipients to get into blue-collar jobs, reducing unemployment challenges in Nigeria. The technical education curriculum should reflect the realities of the informal industry or sector. To achieve this, substantial discussions and partnerships with the various blue-collar industries are needed, which will eventually reflect on the curriculum and method of delivery of the subjects. 

Likewise, since most technical schools lack technical teaching staff, part-time technical staff can be drawn from the blue-collar sector to help complement the theoretical lessons offered by the available teachers. Students must stay abreast of the latest technologies and ways of doing things in the blue-collar sector. Thus, first-hand practical sessions with people already using the technologies from which they have received theoretical teachings, will help students prepare for the world beyond the school walls. 

In addition, a successful technical education is highly dependent on the available infrastructure for practical sessions. Hence, the sector needs to be funded to enable it to provide the necessary equipment to carry out a successful learning process. When all these are addressed, the aim for which the curriculum is structured will be achieved.

References

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Raymond Uwameiye  and Ede O. S. Iyamu. “Training Methodology Used by the Nigerian Indigenous Apprenticeship System.” https://www.dvv-international.de/en/adult-education-and-development/editions/aed-592002/orientation-and-training/training-methodology-used-by-the-nigerian-indigenous-apprenticeship-system

Self-Development Technical Training, “The Necessity of Technical Education.”https://www.sdttacademy.com/web-post/web-post-detail/the-necessity-of-technical-education

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