SIWES: Allowances unnecessary as students have been taking care of themselves already – ITF DG

siwes-logoThe Director-General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Prof Longmas Wapmuk has revealed that the federal government is owing students under the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) billions in allowances.

Wapmuk disclosed this at the 2nd Annual seminar for Trade & Investment Correspondents and Business Editors organised by the Federal Ministry of Trade & Investment in Abuja. Wapmuk said that given this huge debt burden and the inadequacy of funding for the scheme, the agency would rather have the government cancel the N2,500 stipend approved per student instead of accumulating huge debt.

He explained that SIWES was established in 1973 to solve the problem of lack of adequate practical skills preparatory for employment in industries by Nigerian graduates of tertiary institutions. He however lamented that the scheme which exposes and transits students from classroom theories to the practical world had not been funded as a result of increasing demand from all strata of the economy on the federal government funds.

He then suggested that the allowances be removed. His words: “Left to us in the ITF, we prefer that we have a cashless SIWES, because students have been taking care of themselves already during the SIWES period and since the federal government is not in a position to give us the money required because of the demands from other sectors of the economy, we feel we should have a cashless SIWES so that ITF can pay more time to supervising the students instead of accumulating debt… There is no need to accumulate debt that we cannot pay because we are not meeting the demand. Most of staff have been beaten and molested over the SIWES debt,” he said.

14 COMMENTS

  1. kom ITF or wateva dey kal u guiz……u guiz should jst beta hold ur mouths tight if u aint gat anytyn to say…..r u guiz high or wat???……u guiz shud beta make d govt undastnd not sayn stuffs lyk “Left to us in the ITF, we
    prefer that we have a cashless SIWES, because
    students have been taking care of themselves
    already during the SIWES period”……ITF Director…..mind urself

  2. am sure he is Sanusi’s brother and am very sure he got his Proff. under d bridge. Very ridiculous and barbaric. ..so wia has d found been going to?cos I can remember d last IT money was paid in 2005/2006 academic session and fg neva stopped dia budget nor removed d IT/SIWES stipends. Pls FG do not scrap Boko-haramism just cos of some stupid people in this country.

  3. This man does not care about what students are going true during d training,he does not know how to give advice at all if he were the one government does not pay his salary for a long time like that,would he advice d government to forget the salary because he knew that other area of d economy is more important than paying his salary.This man is among those that are currupting Nigeria as a whole he is selfish and uncaring.God will surely bring his judgment over u very soon.Rubish

  4. The DG is crazy. After ITF has finished mandating companies to pay the industrial training tax, what does he want to do with the money or does he think that all students worked in the same oil company as his children or relations? Nawa oo