The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has responded to the National Universities Commission’s (NUC) opposition to the recently introduced one-year top-up programme for polytechnic graduates to convert their Higher National Diploma (HND) certificates to Bachelor’s degree certificates.
In response to inquiries regarding the recently introduced HND Top-Up Programme using offshore credit transfer admission, the Executive Secretary of NBTE, Professor Idris Bugaje, issued a forceful statement on Monday expressing the Board’s dissatisfaction with NUC’s position on its conversion policy in a letter to the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman.
Recall that the NUC objected to the intention by NBTE to provide degree conversion programmes for HND graduates of Nigerian Polytechnics in a statement over the weekend because it was outside of his purview. According to Chris Maiyaki, acting executive secretary, the Commission is the sole Nigerian regulatory body with constitutional authority to oversee university education.
However, NBTE spokesperson Fatima Abubakar quoted Prof. Bugaje as saying that only the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) Division of Evaluation and Accreditation has the authority to assess the foreign degrees after the students have graduated and may seek the same on Monday morning in response to NUC’s position. Abubakar praised the output of Nigerian Polytechnics and counselled NUC to stop discriminating against HND graduates in the future.
The NBTE letter to the Minister reads in part, “I write to update you on the media response last week of the National Universities Commission of Nigeria to an NBTE-initiated progression for HND holders through the Top-Up program in foreign (offshore) accredited universities.
“Only the FME Division of Evaluation and Accreditation has the power to assess the foreign degrees after the students have graduated and may seek that. “NBTE only provides HND Curricula content for credit mapping and eventual credit transfer admissions. The admissions are made by foreign universities, and their Senates make awards of degrees, not NBTE. In fact, the entire process is designed to operate seamlessly without NBTE.
“NBTE also has no financial benefit in the whole exercise, though we requested low tuition of a maximum of about 10% of regular fees since course delivery is online,” “Online programmes are today a globally accepted mode of Education delivery, especially in the 21st Century. Nigerian educational policy has accommodated that with an Open University approved by the Federal Government and NBTE-approved Open Distance Flexible and e-learning Centres being operated by 36 Polytechnics at the moment, and the number is growing.
“Nigerian HNDs are much respected globally. Many European countries give them direct admissions for Masters. Last year, a shining example was Miss Islamiyat Ojelade, HND Distinction in Science Lab Technology (Biochemistry) graduate from the Federal Polytechnic Ilaro, who last year received PhD admissions and Scholarships from seven top US Universities without the BSc. and not even MSc.“Let us, therefore, start respecting our HNDs here at home and stop this discrimination by NUC and others with this mindset.”
