Jubilation in Oko Poly, Anambra, as Innoson signs MoU on skills acquisition for students

There was jubilation in Anambra state yesterday by Technical and Vocational Education students and their teachers alike following a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU agreement signed by the Federal Polytechnic, Oko with the Anambra State government and Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing,  Nnewi for a partnership programme on skills acquisition for students of the institution and all technical and vocational colleges in the state.

The bedrock of the agreement, according to the  Commissioner for Education, Professor Kate Omenugha, was to boost technical and vocational education in the state.

Omenugha said the chief executive of Innoson Group, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, had agreed to make his factory available for the vocational training and skill acquisition in vehicle body building and other technical knowledge that would be useful for Anambra’s industrial needs.

She explained that the pilot scheme under State Education Programme Investment Project, SEPIP, which is a World Bank -assisted programme, would produce the necessary skills that could make the beneficiaries readily employable in technical areas with the ultimate aim of reducing unemployment.

She said  the State government had looked at education from infrastructure, students and teachers dimensions which she said Governor Willie Obiano administration had given a holistic approach, adding that Anambra had been scored one of the three top states in Nigeria with the lowest illiteracy rate.

The commissioner also said Governor Willie Obiano had declared tuition free for a categories of students in technical and vocational schools in the state and cancelled payment of any fee by physically challenged students in the state.

The Rector of the Polytechnic, Professor Godwin Onu said the training programme would be of immense help to students in technical areas.

Students who spoke with www.odogwublog.com said it was a welcome development and appealed that nothing would be left to chance in the agreement as it would benefit the three parties immensely.