Ikpeazu’s education for employment (E-for-E) programme

Abia State today is a land of ideas. Governor Okezie Ikpeazu is a great dreamer. In his concept of Education for Employment (E-for-E) programme, he is seeking to change the narrative about government policy of youth empowerment.

Governor Ikpeazu does not want Abia to perpetually continue to give the youths fish. He wants to teach them how to fish by themselves.

The allegory of giving fish and teaching on how to fish captures the whole idea behind Ikpeazu’s E-for-E, a programme that is conceptualised around creating employment and ensuring that education leads to employment by imbuing the youths with the technical skills that would enable them become either self-employed or sought after by others. E4E will reactivate Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) in the state.

The programme has been kick-started and the aim is that, in the next 48 months, 100,000 youths would have graduated from the three Trade Centres where the youths are being trained in various technical and vocational skills. They are expected to take up jobs in industries upon their graduation or be self-employment and help grow the economy. The programme is with the engagement of United Kingdom-based Kiara College to revive vocational and technical education in the state.

It is to boost the current stride of the state which is aimed at elevating it to a Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SME) hub of the country where all kinds of equipment and devices will be imported to boost shoes and garments production.

In the words of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu: “If you remember, some people are thinking about bringing equipment and all kind of devices to make shoes and garments. But it also requires critical manpower that is vast in technical things to service that industry. And that is why we are going back to technical education. We have brought back to life the Technical School Afara and Technical Ohafia simultaneously. These two schools we serve as model for other technical schools”.

E4E would be replicated in primary schools across the state among primary school pupils that are ready and prepared to go into technical education and eventually end up servicing the technical needs of Abia people. The pilot schools are Boys Technical College, Aba, for Abia South; Government Technical College, Ohafia, for Abia North, and Afara Technical College, Umuahia, for Abia Central.

Also, the emphasis is on the technical component of the education at Abia Polytechnic, College of Education (Technical), Arochukwu, among others.

So far, youths have been identified and tested for their aptitude and skills that suit them best. Industries in Abia State have been carried along to absorb the youths as soon as they graduate from the training programme.

Indeed, this is the dawn for a new Abia. “In this new Abia” according to Gov. Ikpeazu during his inaugural speech on May 29 at Umuahia Township Stadium, “instead of giving our people fish (handouts), we will focus on leading them to grow economically”.

Reactivation of Technical and Vocational Education (TVET) is key to Governor Ikpeazu’s policies and is pursued with vigour. It is conspicuously captured in his manifesto thus: “Our focus on education will be extensive as we believe that the strength of Abia lies in her people. As such, the transformation of the education sector in Abia State will involve both public and private institutions. We will develop an all-inclusive master plan to drive development and progress within the sector.

“The master plan will incorporate restructuring the education curricula for primary, secondary and state-owned tertiary institutions to ensure our children and youths are empowered with sound knowledge and technical skills to survive and add value in the ever- evolving labour market.

“We will promote the emergence of Abia as an education hub/ destination by attracting and diligently fast- tracking the establishment of internationally recognised education providers in the state; taking advantage of the secure environment and social infrastructure we will provide.

“Having recognised the key role of education in our reform and repositioning of Abia State, we will drive incisive reform of the public education system. The reformed education system will also boost our IGR base, and contribute to funding our other social and economic development programmes.

“Our government will resuscitate all the existing programme – specific vocational programmes and institutions across the state. In areas where we identify gaps, we will establish new vocational training centres to address those gaps. These will be emphasised to support our key economic sectors to ensure relevance and sustainability. Facilitate the roll out of massive ICT infrastructure to improve the adoption of e- commerce and internet usage; encourage advanced skills training and development for both teachers; create a database of unemployed youths to facilitate their gainful employment in due course”.

The benefits of this programme are multifarious and transcend boosting the state’s economy and creating employment opportunities for the teeming Abia youths. It will go a long way in addressing insecurity in the state because when the energies of young are meaningfully engaged, the tendency of crime would be reduced to its barest minimum.

The energies of the teeming Abia youths need to be meaningfully engaged now that Abia is an investment destination. It will be recalled recently that Brazilian investors expressed interest to collaborate with Abia State Government to boost the shoe, fashion and belt industries through direct investment, capacity building and creation of new markets for the industries.

The infrastructural revolution going on in the state cannot be complete without a corresponding human responses development. Gov. Ikpeazu has demonstrated the words of Harvey Firestone, a great American industrialist that “The growth and development of people is our highest calling of leadership”.

He deserves a resounding applause.

Ukegbu is an aide to Ikpeazu.