Polytechnic degrees will end HND discrimination, says NBTE executive secretary, Professor Bugaje
Polytechnic degrees will end HND discrimination, says NBTE executive secretary, Professor Bugaje
Idris Bugaje, executive secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), has outlined the reasons behind the push for polytechnics to offer bachelor’s degree programmes.
On Tuesday, a bill seeking to empower polytechnics to award bachelor’s degrees passed second reading at the house of representatives.
In an interview with TheCable, Bugaje said the move is part of efforts to eliminate the degree-HND disparity that has stifled polytechnic graduates’ career progression for decades.
He described the degree-HND dichotomy as
“unfortunate psychology”.
The professor of chemical engineering said the perception that a degree is higher than a higher national diploma (HND) is a “Nigerian mentality”.
“At the moment, an HND holder in public service cannot go beyond grade level 14, whereas a university graduate can rise to become a director. There is no real practical reason for this,” he said.
To resolve this, Bugaje said the NBTE is pushing for polytechnics to offer bachelor of technology honours degrees instead of HNDs.
“This will be a degree different from a university degree. In universities, you give degrees based on character and learning. In polytechnics, we shall give degrees based on character, learning, and skills,” Bugaje explained.
‘WHY IT MATTERS’
Bugaje noted that Nigeria lags behind countries like Ghana and South Africa, which have already adopted this model.
“In South Africa, the polytechnic where I did my sabbatical 21 years ago was offering both HND and bachelor of technology degrees concurrently. It is the choice of the candidate,” he said.
He said the proposed reform would create a clear career path for polytechnic graduates, allowing them to pursue higher degrees and even become heads of polytechnics, a role currently dominated by university graduates.
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‘NBTE NEEDS TO BECOME A COMMISSION’
Beyond the HND-to-degree transition, Bugaje also said the NBTE is advocating for the creation of a National Commission for Technical Education to succeed the board.
“We had a public hearing at the national assembly for a National Polytechnic Commission, but when the new minister of education came in, he dismissed it as ‘dead on arrival.’ However, I modified the proposal to a National Commission for Technical Education, and he agreed,” Bugaje said.
He said the commission would place technical education on equal footing with universities and secure better funding.
“Right now, the National Universities Commission (NUC) gets a much bigger budget. The polytechnics are struggling with underfunding,” he said.
Bugaje added that Nigerian youths need skills to prepare for the disruptive future of work.
