…urge students to strive to acquire requisite skills to reduce unemployment
The Association of Proprietors of Innovation and Vocational Institutes has accused the government of failure to recognise their unit of the nation’s education sector.
The APIVI said that over the years the government has failed to give priority attention to the innovation and vocational institutions in the country.
APIVI President, Dr. Andrews Jegede Olugbenga, stated this in an interview with our correspondent against the backdrop of the recent 2018 Joint Admission and Matriculation Board’s Policy Meeting in Osun State.
The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, had said at the meeting that universities and polytechnics would conduct their admission process before the institutions offering the National Innovation Diploma.
Oloyede had said that the First Choice Admission Exercise would be conducted from July 2, 2018 to October 16, 2018, while the Second Choice Admission Exercise would be conducted from October 17, 2018 to December 17,
2018.
But the APIVI boss lamented the seeming discrimination against the innovation and vocational institutions in the admissions process, saying that the universities and polytechnics were usually favoured to have the upper hand in the admission of students into all the higher institutions across the country.
He said, “Our union is trying its possible best to reduce the incidence of unemployed graduates because we are teaching our students to be self-employed. Unfortunately, the government is not doing enough. There is no sufficient campaign, we are just there. At the last JAMB Policy Meeting, the polytechnics and universities took all the space. As stakeholders, we are ready. Our curriculum is on ground
“The government is approving Higher Innovative Diplomas; they are to be awarded by innovation and enterprise institutions. Vocational enterprise institutions are all about vocation.
Olugbenga further said that although government was not willing to recognise the innovation and vocational institutes, the operators would continue to do their
best.
He enjoined students to avail themselves of the opportunity provided by the innovation and vocational institutes to acquire the training and skills that would make them employers of
labour.
“The government political will is not there, government should give vocational institute a priority, instead of spending five months waiting for admission list. Students can come here because we do our admissions timely enough,” the APIVI boss
said.
