The Presidential Committee on NEEDS
assessment of Nigerian Public
Polytechnics and Colleges of Education
has recommended the removal of
dichotomy between Higher National
Diploma, HND, and the university first degrees. The committee, in its report submitted
to the Federal Government in Abuja
yesterday, also advised that the
curriculum of polytechnics should be
regularly reviewed to address changes in
industry and the demand in society. Director, Tertiary Education, Federal
Ministry of Education, and Chairperson of
the committee, Mrs. Hindatu Abdullahi,
said part of the recommendations was
that the National Board for Technical
Education, NBTE and National Universities Commission, NUC, should
develop standards for the award of
Bachelor of Technology, B.Tech, by the
nation’s polytechnics. She added that the committee also
recommended autonomy for deserving
colleges of education to degree-
awarding status, as well as increase
enrolment of students into their
programmes. “The National Commission for Colleges
of Education, NCCE, should ensure that
all colleges of education running degree
programmes should have not less than
60 per cent Ph.D holders of the total
academic staff strength for each of the degree courses; and provision of Centres
for Educational Technology, CET, with all
the requisite facilities,” Mrs. Abdullahi
stated. The report of the committee also
revealed that in the schools visited, “all
categories of physical facilities are
grossly inadequate, while available ones
are utiliaed beyond installed capacity. “Some vital learning resources are
completely unavailable; the enrolment
policy of 60:40 ratio for Science and
Arts-based courses in Colleges of
Education and 70:30 in favour of
Science/Technology and Arts/Social Sciences in polytechnics are not
implemented. “In some institutions, the teacher-
student ratio is low; most of the
institutions do not have on-campus
hostels, while the available ones are
overcrowded, poorly lit and not
adequately ventilated, and in a state of disrepair; municipal facilities are
inadequate and in poor condition. “Based on these findings, the following
recommendations cut across the
polytechnics and colleges of education:
Completion of abandoned and on-going
projects; rehabilitation and upgrading of
facilities, infrastructures that are in the state of disrepair; provision and
rehabilitation of students through
public-private partnership. “Recruitment of qualified teachers and
training/re-training of personnel;
provision and upgrading of internet
connectivity, tele-communication and
information services; provision of
essential learning resources/materials; all polytechnics and colleges should be
linked to the National Power Grid and
provide alternative/support of power in
libraries, laboratories, workshops and
studios; review of the laws establishing
these institutions; the following recommendations are specific to
polytechnics,” the report stressed. Abdullahi informed that the report
would assist the government in
repositioning the institutions for
effective and efficient teaching,
learning research and community
services, in line the federal government’s transformation agenda
and global best practices....from Nigeria bulletin