HND students now to get B.Tech degree - Minister
From Joe Nwachukwu and Sulaimon Olanrewaju
Tuesday, December 9, 2008


THE Federal Government is about concluding arrangements leading to the phasing out of the Higher National Diploma (HND). The Minister of Education, Hajiya Aidhatu Jibril Dukku, who announced this at the weekend in Owerri, Imo State, said the government planned to replace the HND programme with Bachelor of Technology degree (B.Tech).





According to the minister during the 15th convocation of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri, “you may recall that in the recent past, the Federal Government responded to the public outcry against the discrimination hitherto suffered by polytechnic graduates, by directing all the disparity and encumbrances hindering HND graduates from attaining parity with their university counterparts should be removed.”

She added that no nation could achieve greatness and competitiveness in any sphere of human endeavour without putting a premium on science and technology.

It was in recognition of this fact, she said, that the Federal Government was increasingly stepping up action towards the promotion of technology education in Nigeria.

The statement by the minister has finally put to rest all the apprehension concerning the fate of polytechnics in the country. The fear with respect to the state of the polytechnics started in 2006 when the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo decided to stop the award of HND in the polytechnics, although it said that those already possessing the certificate would not be discriminated against.

The Federal Executive Council, which took the decision, premised it on the derailment of the polytechnics from the initial goal for which they were established by featuring students in virtually all non-technical courses.

The Federal Government, therefore, approved that all polytechnics should be affiliated to federal universities nearest to them and would award Bachelor of Technology degree while advising the state governments to follow its example.

The Federal Executive Council, however, ruled that the two most prominent polytechnics in the country, the Yaba College of Technology and Kaduna Polytechnic, would be known as City University of Technology, Yaba, and City University of Technology, Kaduna respectively.

The council also approved the formal takeover by the Federal Government of the Waziri Umaru Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi, which was to become a College of Technology and a campus of the Othman Danfodio University, Sokoto, as well as Hussein Adamu Polytechnic, Kazaure, which was to be a College of Technology of the proximate university in that state.

However, with the coming of President Umaru Yar’Adua and the appointment of the former Education Minister, Dr. Igwe Aja Nwachukwu, the process of scrapping HND programmes in polytechnics was put on hold as well as other reforms embarked upon by the former administration in the education sector.

http://odili.net/news/source/2008/dec/9/610.html

yes HND is now B.TECH with 3 yrs in HND

na today? BTech from poly and HND, what difference does it make? would that stop the discrimination of poly graduates? BTech is just a re-branding of HND thats all. Government should rather empower polytechnics to award Masters Degree in science & Technology.

na today? BTech from poly and HND, what difference does it make? would that stop the discrimination of poly graduates? BTech is just a re-branding of HND thats all. Government should rather empower polytechnics to award Masters Degree in science & Technology.

Maybe.

Hu? Shey those who finished or graduated as accountant, banking & finance, bus. Adm. Would now be awarded as B.Tech? Is there anything tech or science in their course of study? Does it make impact? Trash and bull-shit!