The Federal Authorities has formally set in movement a transformative plan to abolish the long-standing dichotomy between Larger Nationwide Diploma (HND) holders and Bachelor’s diploma holders.
In a significant transfer to bridge the hole in Nigeria’s training sector, the federal government introduced that polytechnics will now be empowered to award levels, a shift aimed toward ending years {of professional} discrimination in opposition to technical graduates.
The Minister of Schooling, Dr. Tunji Alausa, made this landmark disclosure in Abuja on Wednesday throughout a high-level retreat for council chairmen, rectors, and training stakeholders.
Dr. Alausa described the coverage shift as a strategic transfer to raise polytechnics into “centres of excellence,” guaranteeing they’re not considered as secondary to universities however as equal companions in nationwide improvement.
Based on the Minister, this reform isn’t just about altering certificates however about repositioning technical training to steer Nigeria’s industrial development.
He famous that the way forward for the nation’s economic system is determined by a workforce that may “create, construct and remedy real-world issues,” a core energy of the polytechnic system which can now be backed by the status of a level.
The Minister defined that this new route aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda.”
By granting degree-awarding standing, the federal government expects polytechnics to draw higher funding, forge stronger business partnerships, and increase public confidence in technical vocational coaching.
Dr. Alausa assured that strict rules and high quality assurance can be maintained to make sure these new levels meet world requirements.
Past the certification adjustments, the Minister additionally signaled a brand new period of governance for these establishments. He issued a stern warning to polytechnic directors, stating that transparency, accountability, and “zero tolerance for corruption” have to be the order of the day.
Furthermore, to assist this transition, he introduced a particular TETFund intervention particularly to improve engineering colleges inside polytechnics with state-of-the-art gear.
Whereas acknowledging that challenges like outdated services and societal bias nonetheless exist, Dr. Alausa remained optimistic.
He urged polytechnic leaders to return to their establishments as “brokers of change,” specializing in modern areas like renewable vitality and digital manufacturing to drive the nation ahead.
In a associated improvement, recall that stakeholders and the Nationwide Board for Technical Schooling (NBTE) have lengthy campaigned for the “Larger Nationwide Diploma Discrimination (Prohibition) Invoice.”
This legislative push, which has seen a number of variations within the Nationwide Meeting, sought to penalize companies and authorities companies that deal with HND holders as inferior to their college counterparts by way of wage and profession development.