Polytechnic Association Hails FG’s Plan to End HND Dichotomy

The Association of Private Polytechnics in Nigeria (APPN) has commended the Federal Government’s proposed abolition of the Higher National Diploma (HND) dichotomy, describing it as a landmark reform under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, the President of the Association, Dr.

Benjamin Achiatar, said the policy would significantly strengthen Nigeria’s technological workforce and stimulate economic growth.
According to Achiatar, the reform aligns with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda as implemented through the Minister of Education.
“I am delighted that President Tinubu, through the Minister of Education, has incorporated this into his Renewed Hope Agenda. The reform will elevate and preserve technical education in the country,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the policy would encourage more students to enrol in polytechnics and pursue technical and vocational courses.
NAN recalls that the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, recently announced that polytechnics would be empowered to award degrees following the scrapping of the HND dichotomy.
Achiatar noted that polytechnics produce the bulk of Nigeria’s middle-level manpower, adding that converting the HND to a Bachelor of Technology (BTech) honours degree would enhance the status of polytechnics and their academic staff.
“Most middle-level manpower are trained in polytechnics. Abolishing the dichotomy and converting HND to BTech honours will improve the standing of polytechnics and the lecturers who teach there,” he stated.
On regulatory matters, Achiatar explained that the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) could exclusively oversee polytechnic accreditation without infringing on the mandate of the National Universities Commission (NUC), once restructured into a commission.
“Without prejudice to the NUC’s status, NBTE can regulate polytechnics and accredit programmes for degree awards once it becomes a commission,” he said.
He stressed that the proposed reform would result in no institutional loss but would instead strengthen regulation, provided NBTE is upgraded to a commission.
Achiatar further disclosed that the reform has two major components: granting polytechnics the authority to award BTech honours degrees and transforming NBTE into a commission.
He added that both proposals have successfully passed second reading at the National Assembly. (NAN)