Towards Boosting Vocational and Technical Education for Self-reliance; Issues and Panorama

The Target date is 2015 when Education shall be for All (EFA). This is one of the anticipated outcomes of educational reforms of the present administration. Other aspects of the reforms that permeate the entire sectors of the economy include health, transport, housing and finance, just to mention a few, all of which are aimed at meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This paper identifies some of the implementation problems of And Technical Education which range from inadequate facilities, curriculum defect, use of incompetent (non-professional) teachers, dearth of qualified and Technical education teachers, etc. Consequent upon this, the paper posited that, as an aspect of education, the And Technical Education prcgrammes should be re-strategized through Repositioning and re-engineering in the area of curriculum restructuring, engagement of professionally qualified and competent teachers, government release of adequate funds for equipment procurements, among others, towards overcoming the inherent implementation problems. This strategy would not only ensure the economic empowerment of Nigeria, but also facilitate rapid national economic development. Anything short of this shall make "Education for AH" become "Education for None". Keywords: Repositioning, Vocational, Technical, Education, Strategy and Developin