In effect, the award of the HND will be limited to only the students currently admitted for the programmes.

Also, all the programmes currently being run by the polytechnics, which are not technology-based, and which are about 70 per cent, will be scrapped. Under the new rule, the polytechnics will now become campuses of the proximate universities with the Vice Chancellors of those universities appointing provosts for the polytechnics, subject to the ratification of the Universities Councils.

The polytechnics will now be limited to the award of the National Diploma (ND) while those desirous of further education will be awarded the Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) by the proximate university. To kick-start the new policy, the nation’s two most prominent polytechnics – Yaba College of Technology and Kaduna Polytechnic – will henceforth be known as City University of Technology, Yaba and City University of Technology, Kaduna.

And to give legal teeth to these approvals, the FEC approved the submission of two Executive bills to the National Assembly for enactment into law. With education being on the concurrent list, the states may wish to consolidate their tertiary institutions. But if they do not wish to follow the federal example, their programmes will continue to be regulated by the relevant agencies of the Federal Ministry of Education.

The first bill will concretise the setting up of the two city universities while the second will approve the preparation and consolidation of all federal polytechnics and colleges of education as campuses of proximate universities. The Ministry of Justice will do the preparation and submission of the two bills to the National Assembly.

Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu, told journalists after the weekly meeting of the council that under the reform measures, the ministry would, however, continue to licence private polytechnics and colleges of education for the award of qualification at ND and National Certificate in Education (NCE) levels. She said: “There will be no more awards of HND.

After we have exhausted the current students under the programme, there will be no more awards for HND. This means that there will be no fresh admission for HND programmes. And in addition, any programme that is not technical will be out of the polytechnics. About 70 per cent of polytechnic graduates are in the non-technical courses. It is going to be a rigorous implementation programme.”

A ministerial committee to ensure the smooth implementation of all that is required for the take-off of the reform initiatives is to begin work immediately. Adamu said: “The HND certificate will remain a legal tender in Nigeria and holders of such certificate will continue to be recognised as the equivalent of first degree holders without discriminatory remunerations and limit to progression in the work place.

The NCE certificate will be retained as the minimum teaching qualification at the basic level of education. Any higher qualifications by these private or state-owned polytechnics will be only affiliated with a university. So, HND is no longer in existence, but existing HND will be respected and considered legal tender.”

The council also approved the Federal Government’s formal take-over of the Waziri Umaru Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi, which will be the College of Technology campus of the Othman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, as well as the Hussein Adamu Polytechnic, Kazaure, Bauchi, which will be a College of Technology of the proximate university in the state.

Also, the Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, Imo State, has been taken over as a campus of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri. A state that had never had any federal institution, like Bayelsa, is to have a College of Technology as a campus of the College of Technology of the University of Port Harcourt.

The NCE certificate will be retained as the minimum teaching qualification at the basic level of education. Any higher qualifications by these private or state-owned polytechnics will be only affiliated with a university. So, HND is no longer in existence, but existing HND will be respected and considered legal tender.

DaddyFreeze2020:
Kaduna Polytechnic is actually the biggest Polytechnic in Nigeria and Yaba Tech.
They should have been upgraded to Universities of Technology for a long time.

Under the new rule, the polytechnics will now become campuses of the proximate universities with the Vice Chancellors of those universities appointing provosts for the polytechnics, subject to the ratification of the Universities Councils.

DaddyFreeze2020:
Kaduna Polytechnic is actually the biggest Polytechnic in Nigeria and Yaba Tech.
They should have been upgraded to Universities of Technology for a long time.

sreamsense:
To me, this is not the solution to our non-functioning academic problem we are facing at moment. If someone finishes OND being trained as technical person from polytechnic, you want the same person to continue and collect his/her Btech in University that is based on theory. Which practical will University offer such individual aside theory and certificate?

University itself needs to be restructured, it's workforce and mode of operation needs total rebranding to be more functional and result oriented. At moment, Universities are the ones recruiting skilless and unemployable students on yearly basis. Let government change method of recruiting lecturers in University and not just bas d on how many journals or degrees you have. 70% of lecturers in our present universities should be tested, reassessed and pay off those that are not competent person meet rigorous requirement.

Government should engage them in open test and direct teaching of online students up to three times on given areas of their disciplines to find those among them that can transfer knowledge to younger generation. After teaching public online students, let them send votes to determine if such lecturers can impact knowledge or just collecting salary. No need of retaining professors, PHD holders that can't transfer knowledge for younger generation. After about three public assessment, retain some of the lecturers that can teach properly into universities. Those that couldn't teach or transfer knowledge, reassess them to find out those who can fit into research proper.

Others should be paid off, this method should be maintained to recruit new lecturers also. No need to employ computer science lecturer that can't even boast of one public application he/she has developed. Lecturers can't keep teaching how to solve quadratic equation in programming in contemporary era and excpect to produce another Bill gate for Nigeria. It wouldn't happen! Government should sell or partner with private total investors who can manage each technical, engineering and practical oriented science departments to those that can manage them effectively to compete with international standard.

For example, if dangote buys mechanical department in UNILAG, another rich man buys that of UNN and another buys that of ABU. Each of them will strive to invest into it by hiring foreign or local capable hands, spend on research and car production. Each of them should be allowed to compete, advertise their manufactured vehicles or other inventions out for people to patronize them and sell off to other Africa countries and the world. It will set out compitition that will lead to compusory research and development; their students should be made to learn directly from research, maintenance and manufacturing.

By the time they become graduate, they will be loaded with relevant skills that can make them contribute to modern digital society with adequate functioning skills. There are many more changes time wouldn't permit me to write, but total restructure is needed to reposition our education system to compete globally with proveable results

enumerica:
FG Scraps HND In Polytechnics


… Embarks On Comprehensive Reform Of Nigeria’s Tertiary Education System



https://www.newsfrontonline.com.ng/fg-scraps-hnd-in-polytechnics/

enumerica:
FG Scraps HND In Polytechnics


… Embarks On Comprehensive Reform Of Nigeria’s Tertiary Education System



https://www.newsfrontonline.com.ng/fg-scraps-hnd-in-polytechnics/

wiseone28:
It's the solution..

You write this epistle so that you will continue to look down on those with HND