Nigeria Scraps Award Of HND Certificates By Polytechnics

Nigeria Scraps Award of HND Certificates by Polytechnics – The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday 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.