By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
TheCalabar Area Manager of the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, Calabar Area Office, Mrs. Evelyn Irabor, yesterday charged coordinators of industrial training in institutions of higher learning in Cross River State not to allow their students proceed on industrial training, IT, (industrial attachment), without the consent of their department coordinators.
Irabor dropped this charge during the flag off ceremony of a week long programme tagged: ‘Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme, SIWES, Coordinators’ Week,’ held in Calabar.
Mrs Irabor charged the departmental coordinators to do everything within their reach to ensure that students report back to their departmental coordinators before proceeding to resume duty in their primary places of assignments.
She said that by so doing, it would be easier to to track down students who had left the school for purpose of industrial attachment.
She said, “I think with that, tracking will be easy. To me this issue has been overflogged.
“Ensure that these students collect their letters, and on point of collection, ensure that they are told that they should report back to their department coordinators before they go to resume in their places of primary assignment.
The Area Manager added that the week long activities, which includes training workshop on social media leveraging on SIWES administration, would let those residing in the state to know exactly what the Federal Government has been doing in relation to students industrial training scheme.
Irabor added, “Because overtime, we have been having challenges, issues of organizations accepting students for this placement of students industrial work experience scheme.
“The whole idea is to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Its always an issue to get the organizations do the needful.”
Irabor stated that it is only by synergizing with coordinators of institutions of higher learning, corporate organizations and other stakeholders that the purpose for which the ITF was established can be realized.
She therefore urged heads of organizations and institutions not to be afraid of availing opportunities for students of tertiary institutions of higher learning to embark on industrial training for fear of not being able to pay the monthly stipends as transport allowances to IT students.
