Should Nigerian Polytechnics Be Converted Into Universities?

Good jobs guys, we all need each other both poly and uni to become achievers. The head cannot stand on its own it needs the body as well.

Remember, Good thinking, good product.

harmonizing the two or three institutions will help the country a great deal but bearing one name will distroy the system to a large extent.
Cheers guys.

what da, ? polys into uni's?ooh because they want more people to have bsc huh? instead of the fg to create more university or better stil encourage the creation of more private universities to accomodate the increasing number of secondary school grauduate, all they are thinking of is ungrading the poly which i find annoying and disturbing.

i think it is possible for polytechnics 2 be converted to university. it will even stop the dicrimination that it is only the brilliant ones that are in the university while the dull ones are in the polytechnics.

I'D rather be good than lucky, but there are certain notions in life where luck is a necessity.  Such is the case with the Nigerian Board of Education.
In all fairness, the misconstrued belief that only dull students attend polytechs is ludicrous. 
If ever a system can be coined where polytech students can transfer as continuing students to more-advanced 4 year institutions after perhaps 2-3 years at polytechnics where the students are able to meet/complete core requirements in their chosen field of study.
The plan is to give students the ability to transfer to their schools of choice through transfer agreement plans.  Much like the US. where CC students can transfer into prestigious universities.

It does seem however that the system of education as it stands in Nigeria is almost irreversible.  Fixture is a daunting task but conversion of polytechs into Unis will solve nothing.

Sure it will lead to more admissions, but the cons outweigh the pros.

p.s. there are problems with my proposal but it was worth mentioning.

@ kobe

I think that should be the way things come out, i think normally when people finish some diploma course they get to go stright to year 2 of their course in university.
the problem would be the transition from polytechnic into the university.

bulga: i agree the new minsiter is more of a talker than a do-er, shes said so much and done/implement very little.

I don't know what to say about this discussion because u have said it all. But what i say is that if our Government can make what they  have said about marging HND and BSC to be at thesame level it will be better because the discremination is getting too much.

Imaging somebody that complete HND is it not a Graduate. please let me no.

Please Nigeria do not need Engineers  since all Nigerian wants is importation of goods (Buy and Selling) So technician hat can maintain the junks. No made in Nigeria things right now.

Both NUC, NBTE are now scrapped and replaced with new commission and the draft bill is out . check front page of MONDAY 2/4/2007 guardian newspaper for details

but what actually is our problem in Nigeria?? why are we so crazy about certificates and not skills and knowledge??

We as a nation produce such a level of hatred towards technical jobs, everybody want degree eh!

Food for thought: One of the HR big dogs in my firm made the statement that with this conversion, the first batch to graduate better come out with 1^st class because with all those degree holders, the minimum will move to 1^st class.

Talk about further disenfranchising our youth.

Yes People will operate OKADA with degree than to be technically sound in the polytechnic that would made him employer of labour.

The end of the talk

HND is for slaves not for their own children.
24 years ago  they pay for us to go to poly, with free food etc. Little did I know that HND is a trap that nobody want to do anything with. HND like pupu 
Now they throw us out to suffer.
The then government gave us free education at the federal Polytechnics, free feeding and accomondations.

my own wander is if anybody has an idea what will happen to the non-technical students in the polytechnic?

Theres no such thing as non-technical student in polytechnics ok.evry course has its technical aspect.I graduated from a polytechnic and i can tell you point blank that i can beat any 400L student in my descipline.Polytechnic teaches you how to research and make necessary findinds NOT Uni.Go to Computer Village or Alaba and tell me how manu Degree holder you will find there.Most are Polytechnic students. So srap Poly. now and you will see that Nigeria kids abroad will come back home to out shine and take over from the home base ones.

What needs to be done is the conversion of POLYTECHNICS TO P-DEGREE SCHOOL so those who can't enter Uni through JAMB shld go there and groom themselves and The Universities should upgrade to both Theory and Practical.4yrs is not to small to do that(2yrs of theory & 2yrs of pure practicals)

Or wht do you think?

ASUP planned strike ill-advised -Leo Okereke, NATE president

Before now, graduates of polytechnics were treated as
poor cousins in relation to their counterparts from
the universities. The reason being that the Higher
National Diploma offered by the polytechnics is
considered rather inferior to the degree. To underline
this discrimination, most employers of labour in the
country apart from giving undue preference to
university graduates during their job recruitment also
did not see anything wrong in placing a ceiling above
which holders of HND could not be promoted.

But this is one state of affairs that has received a
lot of knocks from several quarters, especially from
those concerned who considered the existing disparity
between these two categories of graduates as rather
untenable since it is not based on any known
parameters of performance or competence on the job.

  The Federal Government may have been persuaded to
buy their argument as it recently erased the disparity
between Higher National Diploma from polytechnics and
first degrees in universities. In this exclusive
interview with our Imo State Correspondent, Chidi
Nkwopara, the National President, Nigerian Association
of Technologists and Engineers (NATE), Chief Leo
Okereke, is full of gratitude to the Federal
Government for taking the step to redeem the values
and job ratings of products of polytechnics, just as
he cautions teachers in the nation’s polytechnics
against embarking on an ill-advised strike at a time
they should be celebrating the government’s
heart-warming gesture. Excerpts:

HOW do members of NATE see the recent cancellation of
the disparity between HND holders and degree holders?
We are very grateful to the Federal Executive Council
(FEC) for ratifying the new policy on education
reforms, making HND to be at par with first degree.
The HND holders in Nigeria will not forget this
administration in a hurry, especially those who
thought they made a mistake by attending polytechnic
or College of education.

Don’t you think that those who have sat on this
development over the years may ultimately have a
different view from you?
Anybody has a right to his or her own view. Such
person or persons have the right to commend or condemn
any administration depending on how it impacts on the
individual or individuals. I must say that this
administration headed by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is
the best as far as HND holders are concerned. We are
very grateful to Baba for bailing graduates of the
country’s polytechnics from years of educational
discrimination.

What do you have to say about the claim that the
matter was not debated exhaustively before the Federal
Government took the decision?
Those who feel that the stakeholders did not debate
the matter exhaustively are only being economical with
the truth. This discrimination in remuneration and
limit to progression in work place has been going on
for the past 30 years. Some HND holders have been on
14-year stagnation sentence on Grade Level 14 in
various ministries all over the federation. This is
not fair in any way. Apart from bringing an end to the
rancour and unnecessary dissipation of energy which
the dichotomy between HND and first degree have
generated over the years, it is justice at last for
the HND holders who have been at the mercy of
entrenched civil servants who are the protagonists of
the superiority of first degree in remuneration and
placements. The Federal Government deserves to be
highly commended for this bold and drastic decision
which is a quality addition to the list of the
dividends of democracy.

While still relishing in the euphoria of the
development, what have you to say of the threat by the
leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics
(ASUP) to embark on strike?

I shall not say that I have not heard about this
threat by ASUP. Honestly, it beats my imagination to
hear that members of ASUP can even contemplate on such
an idea, especially people who should be stakeholders
in the polytechnic system. It’s unimaginable. It is a
fact that ASUP produces finished products that were
roundly discriminated against, possibly rejected by
the society for 30 years. The current Federal
Government then decided to address the matter with
finality and in favour of ASUP and polytechnic
products and instead of congratulating President
Obasanjo and his team, ASUP preferred to threaten a
strike action. Something is really wrong somewhere.

What advice do you have for ASUP in this direction?
If I had my way, I would have preferred that ASUP
leadership shelves the planned strike. If they do not
heed to this advice, the Union’s members would be the
worse for it. NATE will frown at any attempt by
anybody or group of persons to truncate this good
gesture from the Federal Government.

How do you see the reforms of the Federal Government,
especially in the education sector?
We are united with the Federal Government on the
on-going reforms. I must say  that there would be
disruption of academic activities in the nation’s
polytechnics if ASUP goes ahead with their threat to
go on industrial action. NATE is already planning its
own antidote.

What will NATE do if ASUP goes ahead with the strike?
It will readily call up its members to go to the
classrooms and teach those coming behind us. We shall
call out all HND holders in Nigeria, no matter their
discipline, to come and lecture the young lads in
school. We shall equally call out all those who are
sympathetic to this educational racism and
segregation, to assist in making the new policy to
work. NATE is very prepared to do legitimate battle
with anybody or group that willingly wants to destroy
our new found educational freedom. NATE does not see
any rationale for planning to go on strike. I cannot
understand why or how ASUP will be releasing products
from their production lines that are discriminated
against in the labour market and somebody comes to
remove the discrimination and ASUP leadership plans
industrial action. It is senseless.

The Federal Executive Council may have approved the
new policy but the feeling is that approvals have
never been equivalent to laws. What are your views?
This is the fear being expressed by concerned citizens
of this country. We sincerely plead with the Federal
Government to urgently back the reforms by law. This
has been the fear expressed by many that the legal
documents have not been prepared or signed into law. I
have no iota of doubt that the present administration
cannot institute its reform programmes without
necessarily legalising them. What is now left to be
done, as far as the engineering profession is
concerned is that the Council of Registered Engineers
of Nigeria (COREN) Act should undergo an urgent review
with a view to amending it to reflect this new Federal
Government policy.



 
 Page 42 of vanguard news paper Posted to the Web: Wednesday, April 11, 2007
 



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