Polytechnics, monotechnics, and other related schools are no longer allowed to provide degrees, according to a directive from the federal government.
The National Board for Technical Education informed the heads of the concerned institutions of the government’s decision in a circular with the marking TEB/PRO/E/12/Vol.11/132 dated December 1, 2022.
Our correspondent was given a copy of the paper on Tuesday, and Ogoh Ngbede, the director of the board’s Polytechnic Programmes Department, signed it.
Ngbede underlined in the circular the dismay of the Federal Ministry of Education about the rise in the number of tertiary institutions offering programs for which they were not initially intended.
But he added that the government has given the impacted institutions four years to graduate the most recent group of students who have already been admitted to such programs.
A portion of the memo stated, “Polytechnics and other technical institutions in the nation should immediately cease admitting students into degree programs.
The same goes for polytechnics and related institutions that grant Nigerian Certificates in Education; they should only offer technical courses.
“Undergraduates who have already been admitted to these programs, however, should be permitted to round up the programs into which they have already been admitted.
Institutions have been granted until 2026 to graduate their final class of students for these programs.
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, according to The PUNCH, has long urged the government to let polytechnics to confer degrees.
The awarding of degrees by polytechnics, according to the union’s national president Anderson Ezeibe, would put an end to the current division.
He said,
“HND is no longer as attractive as it used to be to Nigerian youths because of the age-long dichotomy.
“Policymakers have made it a rule that once an individual has an HND, he cannot attain the peak of his/her career, then why are they continuing to force it on people, why don’t they phase it out and replace it with Bachelor of Technology?”
He claims that the Nigerian polytechnic system is equipped with the necessary infrastructure and personnel resources to grant Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees in the field of technology.
When asked on Tuesday what he thought of the development,
Later that night, Ezeibe promised to contact the newsmen.
At the time this report was filed, he still hadn’t done anything.
In the meantime, the government’s choice was supported by Ayodamola Oluwatoyin, Director of Programmes at Reform Education Nigeria, in an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday.
She said,
“It is a very good initiative. Universities and polytechnics exist for different reasons. While it is largely believed that universities focus on theories, polytechnics focus on practical ones. So why should one want to take over the duty of another?
“However, it is worthy of note to remind the government about to promise to eliminate the dichotomy between degrees and Higher National Diplomas. We need to understand that the two awards serve different purposes hence, one should not be seen as lower than the other.”
