By FUNMILAYO ADEYEMI

The Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, has expressed the need to promote inclusivity, especially for women and persons with disabilities in technical education.

Bugaje stated this in Abuja while assessing the impact of President Bola Tinubu?s administration after two years in office.

He appealed for greater gender inclusivity in vocational and technical education, stressing that deliberate policies such as scholarships and incentives could help bridge the gender gap.

In support of his position, Bugaje shared an inspiring story of a female medical doctor who abandoned her medical career to pursue carpentry.

?There is a story I want to share with you, about a girl who was interested in becoming a carpenter.

?The father was a carpenter and they were four children in the family, three boys and herself.

?Whenever she joined the boys to the workshop, the father would send her away, saying, ?you are a girl, go back to the house, you are not supposed to be a carpenter.?

?Without giving considerations to the passion of the young girl, the father sent her to a medical school.

?She graduated with the MBBS, went and did the one-year internship after graduation, and chose a role as a medical doctor.

?After that, she came back to the father, returned the MBBS certificate to him, and thanked him.

?Afterward, she told the father that her passion is in carpentry, not to practice as medical doctor,? Bugaje narrated

He added that after spending seven years on medical training, the father had no option but to send her to Turkey to learn how to make furniture.

Addressing cultural and societal barriers often faced by young women in technical fields, Bugaje appealed to parents to support their daughters? interests in trades like plumbing, electrical installation, and carpentry.

He also called on policymakers to prioritise passion and skill development among youth, especially girls, noting that such encouragement could lead to greater innovation and self-reliance.

?If they want to become carpenters, ICT experts, or POP artists, allow them.

?In skills? training, passion is very important. That?s what motivates children and helps them innovate.

?We need to harness these innovations if the country is to move forward and rise beyond being a third-world nation,? he said.

He emphasized the need to have deliberate policies to encourage women to come into TVET through scholarships and other incentives. (NAN)

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