ONDO PARTNERS INDIAN BASED ORGANIZATION (LAHI) TO INTRODUCE VOCATIONAL SKILLS ACQUISITION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

The Ondo State Government has commenced vocational skill acquisition programme, tagged Multi Skills Teen-preneurship Programme, MSTP), in secondary schools across the state to address critical needs within the education sector.

The programme, facilitated by Accent Entrepreneurship Development Initiative and Spring Board Nigeria, is aimed at equipping secondary school students with multiple entrepreneurial skills for greater employability opportunities and self-reliance while undergoing their normal academic programmes.

The vocational skills acquisition will help the students understand the inter-correctedness of the theoretical concepts they learn in the textbooks, their real-life applications, life advancement opportunities, as well as career equipping and preparatory knowledge for the future.

The state government is achieving this through partnership with an Indian based organization, LEND-A-HAND-INDIA (LAHI), a multi- Skill Foundation based in India, with the pilot project kick-starting in nine selected secondary schools across the three senatorial districts of Ondo State.

The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Olufemi Agagu FNIVS, while unveiling the multi-million naira Vocational Education Tools/Equipment for the  Programme in Akure, said the Multi-Skill Teen-preneurship initiative would  address lack of practical vocational skills in our students, prepare them for the workforce and enhancing their employability prospects.  

Mr Agagu, who identified the acquisition of the right type of skills as the catalyst for economic development, maintained that the success story of developed nations can be traced to early discovery of entrepreneurship as a tool for sustainable economic development, stressing that Nigeria must put technological breakthrough to economic use to create employment either directly or indirectly.

"Certificated education alone is no longer sufficient for survival all over the world, especially with the disappearing white-collar jobs everywhere, hence the decision of government to collaborate with the Indian based organization to ensure that the young ones acquire skills that could sustain them, even while pursuing their education to higher levels". 

He said the Multi Skill Foundation,  has brought a new dawn in Africa, most importantly, in Ondo State by bringing the Indian Technical Know-How for the development of the state through the Multi-Skill Teenpreneurship Programme, as LEND-A-HAND-INDIA (LAHI) has not only brought the tools/equipment but also brought their Technicians to train Instructors on how to use them appropriately.

The Commissioner noted that the curriculum developed for the vocational training programme is more of practical than theory, geared towards acquisition of skills in Workshop and Engineering, Energy and Environment, Gardening, Nursery and Agriculture, adding that these are the basic needs for any nation to grow and feed herself.

Mr. Agagu said the state government was already thinking out of the box on ways to build infrastructure and provide basic educational necessities aimed at shifting from accumulation of knowledge to the practical utilization of knowledge, and thanked  the organization, LAHI, for making Ondo State its priority, not only in Nigeria but in Africa.

"On the side of the state government, I wish to say unequivocally that the state is fully prepared to play its own role to ensure that this Programme is jealously guided as we will not leave any stone unturned to ensure it success in all the nine (9) selected secondary schools across the state*

The leader of the delegate, who is also the Chief Executive of Lend-A-Hand India, Mrs Sunanda Mane, explained that the Programme was aimed at encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset among Nigeria students and equiped them with the skills and knowledge needed to start their own businesses.

She said the pilot project, taking off in nine selected secondary schools in the Ondo State would enable the organization test-run the Programme and identity more areas of possible future intervention to ensure that all the targeted school children benefited from the vocational training.

Mrs Mane said her organization was satisfied with the facilities provided by the state government for the take-off of the Programme during her earlier visit to the nine selected schools in the three senatorial districts of the state, and urged government and other stakeholders to assume ownership of the programme and ensure its success.

The facilitator of the programme and Chief Executive Officer of Multi Skill Teen-preneurship Programme, Mr. Wale Akinyanmi said "Lend-A-Hand India" LAHI, which focuses mainly on equipping secondary school students with entrepreneurial skills has been successful in over 650 schools across India.

He said LAHI had made much impacts in vocational skills development in India and has decided to extend the Programme to Africa, starting from Nigeria and chosing Ondo State as the take-off point for the pilot project.

Mr. Akinyanmi, said the success of pilot project relies strongly on collaboration and partnership with various stakeholders including government, educational institutions, community leaders, Alumni Associations, Non-governmental organizations, Parents/Teachers Associations among others .

Olaoluwa Meshack

DDI, Media/Info.