The Minister of State for Education, Mr Chukuemeka Nwajuiba has commended students of Federal Science and Technical College (FSTC) for solving country’s problems through the development of ideas around how to check banditry and other challenges facing the country.

Nwajuiba was speaking in Abuja on Friday at the 6th edition of National Students Vocational Skills Competition.

The event has its theme: “Inspiring Young People to Develop Passion for Skills and Pursue Excellence through Competition and Promotion”.

Nwajuiba said that for the country to appropriately address the socio-economic challenges currently facing it, there was need for youths and adults to be equipped with the best and latest skills provided by TVET institutions.

He said the students were able to create a lot of inventions through the help of the knowledge acquired in the teaching of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

He said that the students were developing environmentally friendly materials that could help lower the cost of building if properly allowed to thrive.

He charged private sectors to come in and use some of the equipment installed in the school as a way of promoting the students.

” We at the ministry of education believe that it is important to encourage our young science and technology driven students.

” The focus of this administration is to bring TVET to the forefront and this national competition is designed to provoke that amount of interest around science and technology education and what we have seen today are highlights from various colleges we have around Nigeria.

” I am highly delighted on how Nigerian children are solving Nigerian issues. Some of them are developing ideas around how to check banditry and how to check the misuse of anything.

” They have innovated what I will recommend to the Nigeria Air force rocket launcher to check excesses of kidnapping, banditry and other crimes in the country.”

Nwajuiba added that the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was a blessing in disguise as it help in reducing unemployment in the country due to the fact that many students were involved in skills acquisition training brought by TVET.

He said this was a reflection of how young men and women were raising their voices to make the country proud pledging that the ministry of education would focus on helping the children actualise their dreams through their innovations.

” We expect that what we have right now are children interested in technology and science. What we have done as a government is to ensure that the facilities are available so that they can freely exercise their talents and they are showcasing it.

” What we are trying to do now is to have private sector to come and look at the technology we have around the school and see where they can integrate.

” We welcome private sector in the use of some of the equipment installed in the school as some of them are not optimally used and have some of these technologies move into the market and I think all of us can work together for a better Nigeria.”

He added that the annual skills competition was introduced to inculcate in students the ” Hands -on-Learning” and ” Doing component” of producing real goods and services for the society as part of solutions to the socio-economic challenges of the contemporary society.

Also, Mrs Olubukola Adedigba, Director, Technology and Science Education in the ministry said that the passion toward vocational skills in all FSTCs had helped in flourishing and expanding the activities of TVET.

Adedigba noted that the skills competition had also become a platform through which students in all FSTCs states could learn from each other and give free rein to their potentials.

She called on both public and private establishments to key into the competition to bring the students and their innovations to limelight.

Meanwhile, Mrs Aghedo Osamudiame, Principal, FSTC Orozo, said that the competition over the years had helped to harness the needed skills to showcase innovative potentials of the students.

Speaking at the exhibition stand, Master Oladipupo Daniel, an SS2 students of the FSTC Ilesa, who invented an orthopedic chair said he designed the chair for aged people over 85 years who have difficulty in going to the toilet.

Also, Master John David, also an SS2 student of the same school designed a manual vegetative sprinkler used to water vegetable beds in place of watering can that cause a lot of time wasting and fatigue.

Daniel said that the machine would in an hour water an hectare of land instead of the usual watering can that takes longer time.

Other innovations showcased at the competition are local incubator by FSTC Dayi, Kastina State, Popcorn Making Machine by FSTC Tungbo in Bayelsa state and a solar Cooker and Inverter by FSTC Usi Ekiti.