By Joseph Erunke
For decades, the Higher National Diploma, HND, has been both a badge of technical competence and a symbol of institutional discrimination in Nigeria’s education system. While polytechnics quietly powered industries with skilled manpower, their graduates faced limited career progression, wage disparities and social bias when compared with university degree holders. Last week in Abuja, that long-standing fault line appeared set for a historic shift.
At a high-level retreat of governing council chairmen, commissioners for education, rectors, registrars and bursars, the Federal Government announced plans to scrap the BSc/HND dichotomy and empower polytechnics to award degrees, an intervention many education experts have described as a watershed moment for technical and vocational education in Nigeria.
Unveiling the reform, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, described the decision as a landmark policy shift aimed at restoring dignity to polytechnic education and repositioning it as a central pillar of national development.
According to him, the reform would end decades of discrimination against polytechnic graduates while elevating polytechnics into centres of excellence within the higher education ecosystem.
“This is about building a workforce that can create, build and solve real-world problems,” the minister said, noting that Nigeria’s future competitiveness depends on practical skills, innovation and industry relevance rather than certificates alone.
The HND–BSc dichotomy has long been a source of frustration for students, parents and educators. Despite comparable training durations and often superior hands-on exposure, HND holders have routinely been sidelined in employment, promotion and academic progression.
The Federal Government’s new proposal seeks to close that gap by allowing polytechnics to award degrees,while retaining their traditional strength in applied, industry-focused training.
Dr. Alausa explained that the policy aligns squarely with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which places job creation, industrial growth and human capital development at the centre of governance.
With degree-awarding status, polytechnics are expected to attract stronger industry partnerships, enhanced funding opportunities and renewed public confidence.
He assured stakeholders that the transition would not be cosmetic. Clear standards, strong regulation and rigorous quality assurance mechanisms, he said, would guide the process to ensure global competitiveness and prevent dilution of academic and technical standards.
Speaking on the retreat’s theme: Transforming Polytechnic Education in Nigeria: Innovation, Good Governance and Sustainability for National Development, the minister stressed that polytechnics are indispensable to building a skills-driven economy.
He revealed that the Ministry of Education has prioritised Technical and Vocational Education and Training, TVET, to ensure graduates are industry-ready, innovative and capable of driving economic growth.
To that end, polytechnic leaders were urged to entrench innovation through entrepreneurship centres, research hubs and robust industry partnerships.
Renewable energy, agri-technology, digital manufacturing and climate-resilient solutions were identified as priority sectors where polytechnics must lead.
“Polytechnics should be problem-solving hubs for national development,” the minister said, challenging institutions to translate ideas into prototypes and inventions into enterprises.
Beyond academic reforms, the government’s message was clear: a new era demands new standards of governance. Dr. Alausa warned that transparency, accountability and ethical leadership must define polytechnic administration going forward. He called for fiscal discipline, timely audits, prudent resource management and zero- tolerance for corruption.
Sustainability was another key pillar of the reform agenda. Polytechnics were encouraged to boost internally generated revenue through production and services, develop eco-friendly campuses and invest in resilient infrastructure. In a bold vision of self-reliance, the minister urged institutions to “produce what they consume,” from energy and food, to basic equipment,while supporting national efforts to reduce import dependence.
Acknowledging persistent challenges, funding gaps, obsolete facilities and societal bias in favour of university degrees,the minister insisted that opportunities far outweigh the obstacles.
A major highlight was the announcement of a special TETFund intervention to upgrade polytechnic engineering schools with state-of-the-art equipment, following a similar intervention for 12 medical colleges last year. The move is expected to significantly strengthen technical capacity and improve training quality across the sector.
While the government set the policy tone, stakeholders within the system echoed the need for unity and internal reform. Chairman of the Committee of Heads of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology in Nigeria ,COHEADS, Dr. Sani Usman Tenga, used the retreat to call for harmony, good governance and collective responsibility.
However, he acknowledged enduring challenges, including inadequate funding, outdated infrastructure, governance gaps and recurring conflicts between governing councils, management and staff unions such as the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP; Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics, SSANIP and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions,NASU.
“The transformation we seek is not merely institutional; it is national,” Dr. Tenga declared, stressing that a vibrant polytechnic sector would empower youths, boost local content, promote self-reliance and position Nigeria as a technological and economic powerhouse.
Education experts at the retreat described the proposed abolition of the HND dichotomy as a turning point that could boost enrolment, motivate students and staff, and strengthen the contribution of polytechnics to critical sectors such as manufacturing, technology, agriculture and renewable energy.
If realised, the move to empower polytechnics to award degrees could finally blur the artificial line between theory and practice, ushering in an era where skills, innovation and productivity define success in Nigeria’s education system.
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