* First and only NBTE approved and recognized solar training institution in Nigeria
* Minister for Education approves license for takeoff
* Set to entrench local content and indigenous capacity in solar skills and business
A major milestone was recently recorded in the Nigerian renewable energy sector as the Asteven Renewable Energy Academy (ASREA) was recently granted approval to undertake and offer prospective students a Two year National Innovation Diploma (NID) course in Solar Energy Technology.
This is as Nigeria’s Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu has approved the application of the Asteven Renewable Energy Academy as an Innovative Enterprise Institution under the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). This was conveyed in a letter signed by the Executive Secretary of NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, and the first of its kind in Nigeria. It also shows that NBTE is alive to its responsibilities as it is the only institution mandated by law to licence and approve organizations to undertake training in renewable energy technologies.
This approval has taken two years to culminate. In 2018, ASREA and NBTE embarked on a curriculum development process for NID in Solar Energy Technology. The committee set up to develop this process included professors and experts from various universities and technical organizations in Nigeria; assessed several training courses, practical and theoretical, and involved development of several requirements and a rigorous process of training and site assessments. The final critique of the curriculum and visitation of the Academy took place in April 2021.
With this approval, the Asteven Renewable Energy Academy becomes the only formally authorized institution to undertake Solar Energy Training in Nigeria. This is one of many firsts as ASREA is also the only institution in Nigeria accredited by the Ecowas Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) to undertake examinations for Renewable energy Solar Skills Certification, which is the only regional certification examination to validate solar skills in West Africa.
ASREA has since its formal launch in 2018 been on a different trajectory of vision and growth as its focus has been on developing local content and indigenous skills capacity in the solar energy industry in Nigeria. This is why just three years after its launch, it has created unrivalled capacity and institutionalized sustainability in providing unequalled training. This is moreso, as the National Diploma is set up to be more practical based; providing technical training bolstered by field expertise and solar entrepreneurship capability.