Polytechnics, monotechnics, and other related schools are no longer allowed to provide degrees, according to a directive from the federal government.
In a circular dated December 1, 2022, and with the marking TEB/PRO/E/12/Vol.11/132, the National Board for Technical Education informed the heads of the concerned institutions of the government's decision.
Nigeria Breaking News Today: FG prohibits issuing degrees to polytechnics and others
A copy of the paper signed by Ogoh Ngbede, the director of the board's Polytechnic Programmes Department, was secured on Tuesday by reporters.
Ngbede highlighted the dismay of the Federal Ministry of Education at the growing number of tertiary institutions offering programs for which they were not initially intended in the circular.
However, he said that the government had given the impacted schools four years to graduate the most recent group of pupils who had been accepted for 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 already admitted to these programs should be permitted to round up the programs into which they were admitted.
Institutions have been granted until 2026 to graduate their final class of students for these programs. However, according to reports, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics has urged the government to permit polytechnics to grant degrees over time.
According to the union's national president Anderson Ezeibe, the awarding of degrees by polytechnics would end the current division. According to him, the age-old dichotomy has made HND less appealing to Nigerian adolescents than it once was.
"Policymakers have made it a rule that a person cannot reach the pinnacle of their profession once they have an HND. So why are they still forcing it onto people? Why don't they scrap it out and replace it with a Bachelor of Technology?"
He asserts that Nigeria's polytechnic system has the necessary infrastructure and personnel resources to grant Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees in technology.
Tuesday, when asked about his thoughts on the development, Later in the evening, Ezeibe assured our journalist that he would react.
However, he still needed to do something when this report was filed.
In an interview with a reporter on Tuesday, the government's choice was supported by Ayodamola Oluwatoyin, Director of Programmes at Reform Education Nigeria.
It's a brilliant idea, she said. There are various reasons why universities and polytechnics exist. While it is generally accepted that universities concentrate on ideas, polytechnics do so on a more practical level. Why would one desire to perform another person's job, then?
The administration has promised to end the distinction between degrees and Higher National Diplomas, but it is essential to remember this. We must realize that the two awards have different aims. Thus neither should be viewed as more important than the other.
