The Association of Private Polytechnics in Nigeria has urged President Bola Tinubu to propose a bill that will permanently abolish the dichotomy between Higher National Diploma (HND) and bachelor’s degrees in the country.
Dr. Benjamin Achiatar, President of the association, made this call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
The longstanding disparity, which often results in preferential treatment for bachelor’s degree holders in government employment, was officially removed by the National Council on Establishment.
However, Achiatar noted that poor implementation has rendered the policy ineffective due to the lack of legal backing.
Achiatar emphasized that efforts to address this issue had previously gained momentum when a Bill was passed by the 9th Senate. However, it failed to become law as it was not signed by the then-president.
“The Bill to back it up was passed at the 9th Senate but was not duly signed into law by the then president. Therefore, a new Bill needs to be sponsored or the previous one revisited by the present 10th National Assembly and sent to President Bola Tinubu for his assent,’’ he said.
Low enrollment
According to Achiatar, this policy gap has contributed to the declining interest in polytechnic education, as evidenced by the decreasing number of applications recorded by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
- Achiatar, who also serves as the Proprietor of Gboko Polytechnic, noted the pivotal role of technical education in advancing industrialization.
“We handle mostly technical trainings in Nigeria. In the polytechnics and monotechnics we have various courses; we train our students both in theory and practical. The emphasis we place on practical trainings is what makes us different from the university,’’ he said.
- He stressed the urgent need for government intervention in the declining interest in technical and technological education.
“We are requesting government to pay attention to all technology and technical education in Nigeria because in the last few years, interest in technical and technological education has been reducing.’’ he said
Impact of declining enrollments
Achiatar warned that the dwindling enrollment figures for polytechnics and monotechnics pose a significant risk to the nation’s economic development.
“We are hoping that the government will see this and give adequate attention to this area which will enable students to see the incentive to train in the field,’’ he said.
He further pointed out that the lack of incentives discourages students from enrolling in HND programs, while the government appears more focused on university education.
“That is why we are requesting that the government should sponsor a Bill in the National Assembly that will do away with the dichotomy,’’ Achiatar said.
NBTE reform
Achiatar also threw his weight behind the recent recommendation by the Governing Councils (CCC) of Polytechnics to convert the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) into a commission.
He argued that such a conversion would empower the NBTE to better address the needs of Nigeria’s polytechnics.
“It will have the capacity to work with the National Universities Commission (NUC), to do accreditation in Polytechnics for the award of B.Tech (Hons) which will attract more students,’’ he said.
The association’s call for legislative intervention seeks to create a level playing field for HND graduates while making technical education a more viable and attractive option for students in Nigeria.
