Revitalizing Technical and Vocational Education Training for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development Through Agricultural Education.

Abstract

The goal 1 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Nigeria as a developing country with a population of 140 million people is battling with food insecurity, poverty and youth unemployment problems. This paper therefore focused on the contribution of a revitalized technical and vocational education and training with emphasis on agricultural education to improve the economic status of the country and welfare of the people, trigger entrepreneurship which would eventually lead to job creation. Issues pertaining to women empowerment, integrating technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in education curricula, agricultural education and the rural poor was discussed. The paper concludes that to solve the problem of widespread poverty, unemployment and national food deficit, priority should be given to revitalizing technical and vocational education and training with top priority given to a functional agricultural education. Six major recommendations were proffered. African Research Review Vol. 2 (1) 2008: pp. 152-161