The Federal Ministry of Education, as part of renewed efforts to strengthen transparency, has commenced the full enforcement of biometric attendance verification across all centres participating in the Federal Government’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Programme.
Director, Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Boriowo Folasade announced this in a statement on Wednesday.
Boriowo said the enforcement, which took effect from 1 February 2026, followed a circular issued in December 2025 directing all TVET Training Centres to procure and deploy biometric attendance systems for real-time monitoring.
“The Ministry states unequivocally that biometric verification is now the sole approved method for validating attendance under the TVET Programme.
“Consequently, all payments to Training Centres and monthly stipends to trainees are now processed strictly on the basis of verified biometric attendance records. Any Training Centre that fails to comply with this requirement will not be eligible for payment, and its trainees will likewise forfeit their monthly stipends”, she added.
The Director informed that Training Centres were earlier notified that continued non-compliance would result in removal from the programme, with affected trainees redeployed to fully compliant centres.
The Ministry therefore, “reiterates that compliance with biometric attendance verification is mandatory and non-negotiable, as it safeguards public funds and ensures that programme benefits reach their intended beneficiaries.
“Meanwhile, the Federal Government continues to welcome new Training Centres interested in participating in the TVET Programme. Prospective centres are required to obtain accreditation from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). Also applications can be completed via the NBTE TVET portal”.
Students enrolled in the TVET Programme were therefore advised to confirm that their Training Centres had fully complied with the biometric verification requirement in order to avoid any disruption to their monthly stipends.
“Complaints and requests for assistance may be submitted through the official TVET support platform available on the portal.
“The Federal Ministry of Education remains steadfast in its commitment to strengthening the integrity of the TVET Programme and ensuring that public resources are deployed transparently, responsibly, and efficiently to empower Nigerian youth and drive national development”, the statement concluded.
