House of Reps moves to abolish Bsc/HND dichotomy

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed for a second reading a bill aimed at amending the Federal Polytechnics Act.

The proposed amendments seek to elevate the qualifications required for the appointment of Rectors of Polytechnics and grant them the authority to award Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) degrees, replacing the current system of awarding Higher National Diplomas (HND).

The bill, sponsored by Abbas Tajudeen, the Speaker of the House, and Fuad Laguda, the Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, is designed to address ongoing issues surrounding the BSc/HND controversy.

If passed and assented to, the new law will help resolve discrepancies between polytechnic and university qualifications, providing a clearer path for higher education in the country.

Additionally, the bill seeks to raise the qualifications for those appointed as Rectors of Polytechnics, ensuring that the leadership of these institutions aligns with the evolving needs of the education sector.

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Leading the debate on the bill, Laguda described the Federal Polytechnics Act Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 as an Act of the National Assembly seeking to establish polytechnics in various parts of the country to provide full-time courses in technology, applied science management and other fields of studies and to make provisions for the general administration of such polytechnics.

He said as a way of driving efficiency and advancement of polytechnic education in Nigeria, the Act was amended in 2019 to increase the retirement age of staff of polytechnics and harmonise the tenure of office of the Rectors and other Principal Officers of Polytechnics in Nigeria.

He said the current Bill is to further amend the Act to meet up with the demand of the ever changing world while adhering to the International best practices.

According to him, “This Bill seeks to review and enlarge the membership of the Council with the inclusion representatives of technical institutional bodies like NBTE and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), enlarge the scope of functions of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria with clearer and result oriented administrative structure”.

He explained that clause 2 of the bill is seeking to amend section 3 of the Principal Act to include representatives of NBTE and MAN in the Council of every polytechnic in Nigeria.

He said further that clause 3 of the amendment seeks to amend section 8 which to raise the bar in respect of the qualifications of those seeking to occupy the position of the Rector of federal polytechnics in Nigeria.

Also, clause 4 will amend section 15 of the Principal Act which seeks to enlarge the powers of the academic Board to among other award Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) Hons.

Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen is the main sponsor of the bill said it was an initiative from the National Board for Technical Education as part of efforts to eliminate the dichotomy existing between holders of Bsc and HND.

He said the amendment will abolish HND while the polytechnics will be empowered to award Bachelors of Technology, adding that the law will also increase the qualification for Rectors of the institution to a minimum of PhD.

The Speaker explained that the amendment will not affect the award of OND by the polytechnics as it will continue to exist for low level manpower.