The Federal Government is exploring the integration of National Institute for Sports (NIS) training programmes into the Federal Government’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) initiative as a means of equipping young Nigerians with employable skills, expanding job opportunities and strengthening the sports sector.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa who disclosed this during a meeting with the Director-General of the National Institute for Sports, Comrade Philip Shaibu, said sports and education should be mutually reinforcing, explaining that structured sports education can nurture talent, create career opportunities and contribute to building a sustainable sports economy.
The Minister highlighted a common curricular framework developed in collaboration with the National Universities Commission(NUC), National Board for Technical Education(NBTE), National Commission for Colleges of Education(NCCE), sports experts, the private sector and the National Sports Commission.
He said the framework covers six areas, namely Sports and Exercise Science; Coaching and Development Science; Sports Management and Business; Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation; Sports Technology and Data Analytics; and Sports Law. According to him, the framework is designed to support structured sports programmes in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education and broaden opportunities beyond traditional physical education.
Alausa identified basic training, coaching and sports-facility maintenance at the NIS as areas that could be incorporated into the national TVET platform, subject to necessary approvals and programme requirements.
He said trainees could potentially access training through the Institute’s centres across eight states, while programmes lasting up to six months could be considered where appropriate, adding that further consultations would be required to establish the implementation framework.
He stressed that investment in sports infrastructure must be matched by a skilled workforce capable of maintaining facilities to international standards.
He also cited the national TVET programme’s reported reach of more than 250,000 trainees trained or graduated through approximately 1,200 centres over the preceding 12 to 18 months.
Alausa said about 98 per cent of the centres are privately operated, while trainees receive a monthly stipend of N30,000, and that aligning vocational training with the needs of the sports sector could expand employment, strengthen facility management and support a more sustainable sports economy.
Earlier, Shaibu commended the Minister for education reforms and the renewed emphasis on technical and vocational skills development.
He identified the shortage of qualified games masters and certified coaches as a major constraint to grassroots sports development.
The NIS Director-General also highlighted the Institute’s expansion across the six geopolitical zones, its graduation of more than 1,000 coaches within a year and its 2025-2035 strategic plan, which seeks to improve sustainability and reduce dependence on government funding.
He outlined efforts to revive coaching, fitness and executive certificate programmes, strengthen coach certification, train groundsmen and create career pathways for retiring athletes.
He appealed for the integration of the Institute’s basic training programme into the TVET framework, alongside stronger institutional support to expand its training capacity and financial sustainability.
