The National Universities Commission (NUC) has described the alleged introduction of a one-year top-up degree programme in Nigerian Polytechnics to enable holders of the Higher National Diploma (HND) convert their certificates to first degree with foreign accredited universities as illegal and usurpation of authority.
The Commission has accordingly advised Nigerians not to waste their time and resources pursuing such a programme that is not recognized and has backing of the law in Nigeria.
Acting Executive Secretary of the Commission, Chris Maiyaki, in a statement on Saturday in Abuja, denounced the purported one-year top-up programme introduced by NBTE, saying NUC remains the only agency empowered by law to regulate awards of degrees by institutions in Nigeria.
Maiyaki told the Executive Secretary of NBTE, Prof Idirs Bugaje that the place of technical education is unique and that there was no basis for causing unnecessary friction over the HND and Bachelor’s degree dichotomy as that is being addressed by the law.
He further explained that in most higher education systems, Polytechnics co-exist side by side with Universities for the purposes of producing critical human resources, based on their peculiarities and in tandem with the the goals for which they were established, abinitio;
Maiyaki said: “The attention of the National Universities Commission (NUC) has been drawn to the news (online) that the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has officially introduced a one year top-up degree programme in Nigerian Polytechnics to enable holders of the Higher National Diploma (HND) to convert their certificates to the first degree with foreign accredited universities.
“The online news, which was credited to the Executive Secretary of the NBTE, Prof Idirs Bugaje and the Board’s Head of Media Unit, Mrs. Fatima Abubakar, revealed that the action was in furtherance of the advocacy for the removal of the existing dichotomy between degree holders and HND graduates in their various places of work, and to enhance the beneficiaries’ opportunities for further studies.
“The NUC wishes to inform the Management of the NBTE and the general public that the “Bill for an Act to Abolish and Prohibit Dichotomy and Discrimination between First Degree and Higher National Diploma in the Same Profession/Field for the Purpose of Employment, and for Related Matters”, which was passed by the 9th National Assembly in 2021, is yet to be assented to by Mr. President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“So, even though agitation continues to grow for the abolition of the dichotomy in Nigeria, there is, at the moment, no law that has removed the dichotomy between a university degree and the HND.
“Both the NUC Establishment Law (CAP N81, LFN, 2004) and its Operational Law: Education (National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions) Act, CAP E3 LFN, 2004) vest in the Commission the powers to superintend and regulate university education in Nigeria, lay down minimum academic standards in the nation’s Universities and other degree-awarding Institutions, and accredit their programmes.
“Thus, the Commission is the only constitutionally empowered regulatory agency for university education in Nigeria,” he stated.
The NUC boss added that pursuant to the sustained commitment of the Commission to the development of a balanced, well-coordinated and productive University System that guarantees the delivery of quality education relevant to national development, and in the face of global competitiveness, “the Commission wishes to state, categorically, that: The place of technical education, the world over, is unique”.
“The university degree awarded by the Nigerian University System or any cognate Institution, is not the same as the HND awarded by Polytechnics in Nigeria. In the Nigerian higher education space, the processes, contents and methods required for the acquisition of a university degree are substantially different from those needed for HND programmes;
“At the postgraduate level, the requirements for admission into any Master’s degree programme in Nigerian Universities for candidates with HND are, among others, the acquisition of a Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) from a recognised University in an area relevant to that for which the Master’s admission is being sought.
“To this end, it is implicit that beneficiaries of the NBTE’s Top-Up Programme shall be subjected to extant admission requirements by Nigerian Universities, should they desire to further their studies in the NUS, and
“The unsuspecting general public and all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) should, please, note that the NUC is not a party to and, indeed, disavows the so-called Top-up Scheme, being concocted by the NBTE.
“In the light of the above, the advice of the NUC is that the NBTE should focus on its core mandate and desists from introducing programmes that are outside its jurisdiction, and not supported by any law in Nigeria.
“The Commission does not entertain any intrusion into its lawfully assigned mandate,” Maiyaki stated.
