Until recently, Nigerians knew about universities, polytechnics and colleges (of education, health, technology, agriculture, etc.). The introduction of Innovation Enterprise Institutions (IEIs) into the Nigerian educational system has not been as publicized as is deserving of such important sub-sector. Innovation Enterprise Institutions (IEIs) are mainly private-sector owned and managed institutions of higher learning that run 2-year National Innovation Diploma (NID) programmes. The NID qualification is equivalent to the National Diploma awarded by polytechnics, and have the same value for academic purposes - it qualifies you for a Higher National Diploma (HND) or second year university entry placement (by direct entry). For work purposes, there is the argument that NID is a notch nigher than ND.
The same National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Kaduna that regulates polytechnics regulate IEIs. You gain admission into IEI for NID programme through the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination -UTME.