By John Ikani
It was a day of excitement and celebration on Tuesday at the Federal Science and Technical College, Tungbo, Bayelsa State as the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, (NCDMB) commissioned and handed over a renovated and upgraded science laboratory block to the school.
The block comprises of physics, chemistry and biology laboratories, fully furnished and equipped with equipment that meets the standards set by the Bayelsa Ministry of Education.
In his keynote address, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote represented by the Deputy Manager, Capacity Building, Engr. Mofe Megbele, conveyed the Board’s delight to finally commission the project after the floods of 2022 had delayed the completion of the project by seven months.
The Executive Secretary maintained that embarking on rehabilitation and upgrade projects in technical schools across the country, where critical manpower is produced is key to the Board’s mandate in the oil and gas industry as well as an integral part of achieving the Nigerian Content 10-year strategic road map.
He said: “projects such as this are key to achieving technical capability development, which is one of the pillars of our 10-year strategic plan. We have started and we shall not relent in our pursuit of empowering Nigerians to play the leading role in the activities of the Nigerian oil and gas industry and indeed on the global stage”.
He expressed hope that the facility will improve the teaching competencies of teachers and translate to improved performances by the students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. The laboratories should also motivate more students to take up interests in science subjects and serve as a training ground for young minds who would do exploits beyond the shores of this country in the future, he added.
He urged the students to take advantage of the opportunities that the facility brings to them and study hard and charged the teachers to grant the students access to optimize the benefits of the facility.
In their separate remarks, the Principal of FSTC, Mrs. Umunnakwe Joy expressed delight at the commissioning of the project within two years of commencement of work. She further sought the Board’s continuous partnership with the school to make it one of the best science and technical colleges in the country.
Similarly, the Chairman of the school’s Parents Teachers Association (PTA), Mr. Oseibi Kubuye, thanked NCDMB for initiating the project, which contributed immensely to the economy of the community. He acknowledged that some youths of the community were gainfully employed during the construction of the laboratory block.
Some students spoke at the event and expressed their delight at the completion of the laboratory block and were enthused that the labs would enhance their aspirations to pass their subjects in the forthcoming national examinations.
