URGENT APPEAL TO THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, TVET DEPARTMENT
IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF TRAINING CENTRE PAYMENTS, STUDENT STIPENDS AND ADHERENCE TO THE 40% FIRST TRANCHE PAYMENT
Dear Sir/Madam,
We wish to respectfully but firmly draw the attention of the Federal Ministry of Education, TVET Department, to the increasingly difficult situation being faced by TVET Training Centres and students participating in the ongoing programme nationwide.
It is now almost three months since the commencement of training, yet many Training Centres are still awaiting payment for the services they have continued to provide. This situation has placed enormous financial pressure on centres that have continued to keep their doors open and provide training despite the absence of the expected government funding.
1. TRAINING CENTRES CANNOT CONTINUE TO OPERATE WITHOUT PAYMENT
Training Centres have financial obligations that cannot be suspended simply because government payment has been delayed.
Centres are currently expected to:
1. Pay instructors who report daily and deliver training to the students.
2. Pay qualified assessors and IQAM personnel responsible for assessment and quality assurance.
3. Provide electricity, water, internet and other essential utilities.
4. Provide printing, assessment materials, files, stationery and other training resources.
5. Provide tools, equipment and consumables required for practical training.
6. Pay administrative staff and other support personnel.
7. Meet rent, statutory payments, taxes and other operational obligations.
8. Cater for the daily operational expenses required to keep the training environment functional.
In some centres, daily operational expenditure runs into tens of thousands of naira, yet centres have continued to provide these services without receiving the expected payment.
This is not sustainable.
2. THE 40% FIRST TRANCHE PAYMENT MUST BE ADHERED TO
We therefore call on the Federal Ministry of Education and all relevant authorities responsible for the implementation and disbursement of funds to strictly adhere to the agreed payment structure, particularly the 40% first tranche payment due to Training Centres.
The purpose of the first tranche is to enable centres to mobilise resources, engage instructors, procure training materials and consumables, maintain facilities and commence effective delivery of the programme.
Where this payment is delayed for several months, the burden is effectively transferred from government to privately funded and institutional Training Centres.
Training Centres should not be expected to finance a government funded programme indefinitely from their personal or institutional resources.
We therefore respectfully demand that the issue of the 40% first tranche payment be treated as an urgent financial obligation and resolved without further delay.
3. STUDENT STIPENDS MUST ALSO BE RELEASED
The situation of the students is equally concerning.
Many students have reportedly gone for several months without receiving their stipends. These students incur transportation costs every day to attend training. Some travel considerable distances and depend on the expected stipend to sustain their participation.
The continued delay is now affecting attendance and creating a serious risk of students withdrawing from the programme.
A skills development programme cannot achieve its objectives if students are unable to afford transportation to the training centre.
Students should not be forced to choose between attending training and feeding themselves or meeting their basic transportation needs.
4. ASSESSMENT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE ARE ALSO BEING AFFECTED
As an assessor who has had the opportunity to assess learners across different centres, I have personally observed the significant effort being made by Training Centres, instructors and other stakeholders to keep the programme running.
Centres are not merely providing classrooms. They are providing the infrastructure, personnel, utilities, training materials and administrative support required to deliver the programme.
Assessors and IQAM personnel are also required to carry out their responsibilities professionally, which involves time, transportation and other associated costs.
It is therefore important that the funding mechanism supports the entire training and assessment system rather than placing the financial burden disproportionately on Training Centres.
5. THE CURRENT SITUATION REQUIRES IMMEDIATE INTERVENTION
We wish to make it clear that our concern is not to undermine the TVET programme. On the contrary, we want the programme to succeed.
The Federal Government’s investment in technical and vocational education is important because skills development can provide young Nigerians with practical competencies, improve employability and support entrepreneurship and industrial development.
However, good programmes require timely funding and effective implementation.
A programme cannot operate effectively when the centres delivering it remain unpaid and the students participating in it remain without their expected stipends.
If this situation continues, there is a genuine risk of:
1. Training Centres becoming unable to sustain operations.
2. Instructors and assessors becoming unwilling or unable to continue working without payment.
3. Reduced student attendance.
4. Increased student withdrawals and dropouts.
5. Shortages of practical training materials and consumables.
6. Compromised quality of training and assessment.
7. Loss of confidence among participating centres and students.
These consequences can be avoided if the funding issues are addressed promptly.
6. OUR DIRECT APPEAL TO THE FEDERAL MINISTRY
We therefore respectfully but firmly call on the Federal Ministry of Education, TVET Department, and all agencies and officials responsible for the programme’s financial administration to:
1. Immediately process and release the outstanding 40% first tranche payment to eligible Training Centres.
2. Release all outstanding student stipends without further delay.
3. Provide a clear and transparent payment schedule for subsequent tranches.
4. Ensure that future payments are made within the agreed timelines so that Training Centres can plan effectively.
5. Recognise the financial burden currently being carried by Training Centres that have continued to deliver the programme without payment.
CONCLUSION
We are appealing to the Federal Ministry of Education to urgently intervene before the current funding challenges begin to seriously undermine the programme.
Training Centres are partners in the implementation of this programme, not financiers of the programme.
Instructors, assessors, IQAM personnel, administrators and students are all making sacrifices to ensure that the programme succeeds.
The centres have done their part. The instructors have done their part. The assessors have done their part. The students have done their part. It is now necessary for the funding commitments to be honoured.
We therefore urge the Federal Ministry of Education to release the outstanding centre payments, honour the 40% first tranche commitment and pay all outstanding student stipends as a matter of urgency.
The objective is not confrontation. The objective is accountability, sustainability and the successful completion of the TVET programme.
Pay the Training Centres.
Pay the Students.
Honour the 40% First Tranche.
Keep the TVET Programme running.
Thank you for your urgent attention and intervention. Engr. Abubakar Edicha Ph.D
