VAM News Update
THE National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has clarified that the recently announced top-up programme is not for all Higher National Diploma(HND) holders.
The programme will allow HND holders to acquire a Bachelor’s Degree for one year, with foreign accredited universities by following some steps.
According to the NBTE Head of Media Unit, Hajiya Fatima Abubakar in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, the programme is for HND holders who plan to pursue a career in academia.
Abubakar quoted the board’s Chief Executive, Prof. Idris Bugaje as stating that the programme is for those who have the ambition to further their career teaching as well as research in the Polytechnics or Universities.
”This top-up is an alternative to the Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) offered by Nigerian Universities.
”In a democracy such as ours, HND holders should be allowed to make a choice between PGD and the top-up to BSc,” he said.
Bugaje noted that the clarification became necessary after the misconception about the initiative by the media.
He explained that the programme was not designed to put an end to polytechnic education but to provide an opportunity for HND holders interested in an academic career.
”The choice of starting it with foreign universities is to show its universal acceptability perchance the Nigerian universities may eventually buy into it in due course.
”The cost is reasonable, just about 10 per cent of what regular face-to-face students pay.
”NBTE has come up with the programme to enable interested Polytechnic HND holders to be at par with their counterparts with Bachelor’s degree holders.
”And make it easy for them to go for their Master’s and Doctorate degrees for those interested in pursuing their career in academics,” he explained.
During the unveiling of the programme, the NBTE Boss stated that the initiative hoped to ameliorate the difficulties experienced by HND holders in the country.
”Presently there are many PhD holders who academically progressed with HND through the PGD coming back to enroll for BSc (after their PhD) in Nigerian universities, a very retrogressive step indeed.
“The HND qualification in itself represents something unique and this top-up shall be an encouragement for candidates to apply for polytechnic education since there is a pathway for progression into academics.
”This will never dilute the essence of technical education but rather enhance it,” he stressed.
