The role of technical education in a reforming economy: The Nigerian experience

History has shown that technical education is an important factor in the growth and development of any nation. The reality of today also indicates that technological advancements and innovations have touched virtually every aspect of life. Therefore, any nation that fails to take the production of technicians seriously has sentenced itself into perpetual underdevelopment. It is against this background that many countries including Nigeria mapped out strategies in promoting technical education. The objective of this paper is to discuss the role of polytechnics in providing sufficient manpower for technological development and nation building. It is also the objective of this paper to find out whether educational reform, and in particular neo-liberal economic reform affects technical education in Nigeria, thereby highlighting the challenges that have halted technological breakthrough. Consequently, the paper employs documentary sources for the generation of relevant data for the study. The paper conclude by suggesting that given technical education the pride place it deserves, polytechnics could perform their role of turning out middle-level manpower required for the growth and development of Nigeria.