From Kayode Abdulazeez, Ilorin
Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed disclosed that the World Bank is ready to sponsor no fewer than 17,000 youths at the International Vocational Technical and Entrepreneurship College (IVTEC) in the state. The prospective beneficiaries, he said would be spread over some years to meet the mandate of the global body.
The governor, who disclosed this while featuring on a programme tagged “Governor Explains,” which being monitored on radio stations in the state, noted that the vocational institute, located at Ajase-Ipo in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State is one of the major achievements of his administration. He said the college was established for the training and acquisition of technical skills with a view to promoting self-employment and job creation among youths.
Ahmed, while reacting to criticism about fees at the school currently pegged at N400,000, however, assured residents of the state that apart from the World Bank offer, the state would also sponsor at least five students from each of the 16 local government areas of the state yearly, stressing that sponsorship was opened to private and corporate organisations.
Ahmed, who said that the school could only admit a maximum of 125 students per year, explained that the World Bank would carry out its sponsorship programme in batches, even as the governor expressed delight that with its affiliation to the City and Guild of London, the college would be a centre for the production of ready professionals who could be marketed beyond Nigeria.
According to him, the students of the school would be exposed to practical training that would equip them with skills that would enable them to start work without any round of training elsewhere immediately after their graduation and with the involvement of London City and Guilds, they would be awarded internationally recognised certificates.
On the problem of nonpayment of salary to local government workers, the governor reiterated that the lasting solution to the problem would be improved revenue profile of the local government councils.