By Shannon Gwamna
The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria ( COREN), said the council is putting all hands on deck to enhance professionalism in engineering technical education in Nigeria .
President of the council, Engr. Ali Rabiu made the disclosure while inaugurating the Committee of Technical Colleges in Nigeria (COTEC), saying that COREN was committed to deepending its training and practice.
He also lamented on the importation of foreign artisans into the country and described it as shameful.
The council said the development was a shame to the professionals in the engineering sector, and announced its decision to address the situation.
Represented by Professor Sadiq Abubakar, Rabiu said: “The pyramid is supposed to be better than this. The craftsmen and technicians should be higher than Engineers. That is the pattern globally but in Nigeria the reverse is the case.
“ We have 62,313engineers, engineering technologists 6,587, engineering technicians 937,engineering craftsman 2,778”.
“COREN in its wisdom took the bold decision and steps to correct that abnormality. So, the president of our dear council, has asked me to welcome you and to tell you that the council has taken a decision against all odds to make sure that we have the (Committee of Technical Colleges)”
“As a nation, we can’t import Artisans from the neighboring countries to service
us,that is the failure on our side. Not on the leadership but in this case, it is a failure on the professionals whether you are an engineer or a technologist, technician or craftsman. This is an issue that should concern all of us.
“COREN along with the four associations must join hands to ensure that we change the situation for better. We need to correct the pyramid and we need to make our profession more competitive.
On dearth of craftsmen engineers and techologists, he said: “This says a lot, the registrar had mentioned some but I can tell you that COREN is determined to deepending it in terms of training and practice in this country.
“Only yesterday, COREN signed a new reversed MoU with NBTE – National Board for Technical Education to deepend the accreditation of technicians and technologists. We are going to do the same with NABTEB– National Business and Technical Education Board to also depend class learn level. This is basically trying to address what I mentioned. We must be competitive”
In his address, the Registrar of COREN, Prof. Joseph Odigure stated that COREN has regulated the education of Engineering and Technology programmes in the Universities and Polytechnics and gradually transiting from the traditional education system to Outcome Based Education (OBE) in Engineering Programmes.
Odigure noted that the education and practice of technicians and craftsmen have been relatively neglected, adding that the consequences of neglect are visible in the national economy.
He said: “There can be no sustainable development in the nation’s infrastructure if technical colleges are allowed to go extinct. COREN will leave no stone unturned to achieve this noble objective of bringing back the endangered technical colleges across the nation.”
He therefore called on all the states governors, members of the organized private sector and professionals in the built environment to contribute their quota in the salvaging situation.