Alausa Moves to Integrate Sports Training into Federal TVET Programme

Sports skills development has emerged as a potential pathway to youth employment as the Federal Government considers incorporating National Institute for Sports (NIS) training into its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme.

The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, made this known during a meeting with the NIS Director-General, Comrade Philip Shaibu. They discussed stronger collaboration between education and sports institutions.

Alausa said the proposed integration would equip young Nigerians with practical skills, widen employment opportunities and support the growth of the sports economy.

He stressed that education and sports should complement each other. According to him, structured sports education can develop talent while creating viable career opportunities for young people.

The minister also highlighted a common curricular framework developed with the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), sports experts, private sector operators and the National Sports Commission.

The framework covers six areas, including Sports and Exercise Science, Coaching and Development Science, Sports Management and Business, Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sports Technology and Data Analytics, and Sports Law.

Alausa said the framework would promote structured sports programmes in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. It would also expand sports education beyond traditional physical education.

He identified basic training, coaching and sports facility maintenance at the NIS as areas that could fit into the federal TVET platform.

However, he said the proposed integration would require the necessary approvals and further consultations to establish an implementation framework.

The minister said trainees could potentially access NIS programmes through its centres across eight states. He added that some programmes could run for up to six months, depending on the requirements.

Alausa also stressed that investment in sports infrastructure must go alongside the development of skilled personnel to maintain facilities to international standards.

He listed groundskeeping, pitch maintenance and games instruction among the areas that could provide jobs for young Nigerians.

The minister said building local expertise in those areas could reduce the need to recruit skilled workers from outside the country.

He noted that the national TVET programme had trained or graduated more than 250,000 people through about 1,200 centres within the past 12 to 18 months.

According to him, private operators run about 98 per cent of the centres, while trainees receive a monthly stipend of N30,000.

Alausa said aligning vocational training with sports industry needs could create more jobs, improve facility management and strengthen the sustainability of the sector.

Earlier, Shaibu commended the minister for reforms in the education sector and the renewed focus on technical and vocational skills.

Drawing from his experience as former Deputy Governor of Edo State, the NIS chief stressed the need to integrate sports more firmly into the school system.

He recalled Edo State’s initiative to allocate five per cent of the 30 per cent continuous assessment score in primary and secondary schools to sports.

Shaibu identified the shortage of qualified games masters and certified coaches as a major obstacle to grassroots sports development.

He also said the NIS had expanded its operations across the six geopolitical zones and graduated more than 1,000 coaches within a year.

According to him, the Institute’s 2025–2035 strategic plan aims to improve sustainability and reduce its dependence on government funding.

Shaibu said the NIS was also working to revive its coaching, fitness and executive certificate programmes while strengthening coach certification.

He added that the Institute was training groundsmen and developing career pathways for retiring athletes.

The NIS director-general appealed for the integration of the Institute’s basic training programme into the TVET framework. He also sought stronger institutional support to expand its training capacity and financial sustainability.

Alausa reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to working with the NIS and National Sports Commission to strengthen the link between education, vocational training and sports development.

He said practical, industry-relevant skills would help young Nigerians secure jobs, build local capacity and contribute to a more sustainable sports sector under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.