The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a comprehensive reform of
Nigeria's tertiary education system, scrapping the award of the Higher
National Diploma (HND) by the nation's polytechnics.
In effect, the award of the HND will be limited to only the students currently
admitted for the programmes.
Also, all the programmes currently being run by the polytechnics, which are
not technology-based, and which are about 70 per cent,
will be scrapped.
Under the new rule, the polytechnics will now become campuses of the
proximate universities with the Vice Chancellors of those
universities appointing provosts for the polytechnics, subject to the
ratification of the Universities Councils.
The polytechnics will now be limited to award of the National Diploma (ND)
while those desirous of further education will be awarded
the Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) by the proximate university.
To kick-start the new policy, the nation's two most prominent polytechnics -
Yaba College of Technology and Kaduna Polytechnic -
will henceforth be known as City University of Technology, Yaba and City
University of Technology, Kaduna.
And to give legal teeth to these approvals, the FEC approved the submission
of two Executive bills to the National Assembly for enactment into law.
With education being on the concurrent list, the states may wish to
consolidate their tertiary institutions. But if they do not wish to follow the
federal example, their programmes will continue to be regulated by the
relevant agencies of the Federal Ministry of Education.
The first bill will concretise the setting up of the two city universities while
the second will approve the preparation and consolidation
of all federal polytechnics and colleges of education as campuses of
proximate universities.
The Ministry of Justice will do the preparation and submission of the two
bills to the National Assembly.
Minister of Education, Mall. Adamu, told journalists after the weekly meeting
of the council that under the reform measures, her ministry would, however,
continue to licence private polytechnics and colleges of education for the
award of qualification at ND and National Certificate in Education (NCE)
levels.
She said: "There will be no more award of HND.
After we have exhausted the current students under the programme, there will
be no more award of HND. This means that there will be no fresh admission
for HND programmes. And in addition, any programme that is not technical
will be out of the polytechnics. About 70 per cent of polytechnic graduates
are in the non-technical courses. It is going to be a rigorous implementation
programme."
A ministerial committee to ensure the smooth implementation of all that is
required for the take-off of the reform initiatives is to begin work
immediately.
Mall. Adamu said: "The HND certificate will remain a legal tender in Nigeria
and holders of such certificate will continue to be recognised as the
equivalent of first degree holders without discriminatory remunerations and
limit to progression in the work place.
The NCE certificate will be retained as the minimum teaching qualification at
the basic level of education. Any higher qualifications by
these private or state-owned polytechnics will be only affiliation with a
university. So, HND is no longer in existence, but existing HND will be
respected and considered legal tender."
The council also approved the Federal Government's formal take-over of the
Waziri Umaru Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi, which will be the College of
Technology campus of the Othman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, as well as
the Hussein Adamu Polytechnic, Kazaure,
Bauchi, which will be a College of Technology of the proximate university in
the state.
Also, the Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, Imo State, has been taken
over as a campus of the Federal University of
Technology, Owerri.
A state that had never had any federal institution, like Bayelsa, is to have a
College of Technology as a campus of the College of Technology of the
University of Port Harcourt.


www.linknaija.com/2016/07/breaking-fg-scraps-hnds-merges.html?m=1

Is it FG, or Buhari.

Ok.....hope they don't come out to refute this.

I see our derailed polytechnics coming back to track.