The National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) on Tuesday maintained that it will sustain its crackdown on mushroom entities calling themselves polytechnics and thereby impinging on the government’s strong commitment to delivering qualitative education across the country.
The NBTE has equally maintained that despite its fair share of challenges, Polytechnic education in the country remains on the right path, helping to upscale the acquisition of required skills to build a viable and technologically developed nation.
In recent years, Nigeria has seen a rise in so-called “mushroom” or fake polytechnics — entities that operate without proper accreditation or recognition and falsely label themselves as polytechnics.
These institutions often lack the facilities, qualified staff, or curricula to provide credible education, which can jeopardise students’ futures and undermine national education goals.
The Director of Polytechnic and Allied Programmes, NBTE, Dr Fatimah Kabir Umar, disclosed this during the NBTE’s accreditation visit to Harvarde College of Science, Business and Management Studies, Obada, Abeokuta.
Umar explained that, “We have been fighting against mushroom entities calling themselves what they are not.. We won’t stop to fight such an establishment in the interest of safeguarding what is best for the nation.
“Yes, we know that there is no way we won’t have a few bad eggs around, but we shall continue to fight them and ensure that they do not stand in the way of the government’s commitment to the delivery of qualitative education at all levels.”
The NBTE Director disclosed that the polytechnic education in the country is on the right path, adding that the sector has consistently been concerned with helping to upscale skills acquisition for the advancement of the country’s development.
She said, “Yes, knowledge is good, but we can’t put all our eggs in one basket, and so in terms of execution of this knowledge, the polytechnic education has been leading, and that is why the polytechnic education has remained relevant to building a more prosperous nation”.
Umar explained that the NBTE was at the college for accreditation of the school programmes in two clusters of science and management courses, such as Business Administration, Computer Science, that has been unbundled, like Software Development, Cyber security, among others.
“From what I observed so far in terms of facilities, because I have also been privileged to be here in the past, the institution, in terms of facilities and infrastructure, is not having any challenge,” Umar noted.
Umar, however, urged the lecturers to do a lot more in terms of personal development, urging them to register with appropriate professional bodies, attend conferences, publish journals, and stay updated to be able to dish out the very best for the students.
The Director lauded the management of the school for doing their bit to complement the federal government’s efforts to provide qualitative tertiary education for Nigerians, urging the institution to continue to invest in excellence and uphold the highest standards as outlined by the NBTE.
Speaking at the event, the founder and Provost of the college, Dr Oluwatosin Adebayo, stated that the NBTE is visiting the school for resource inspection and accreditation of about eight courses, like Film and Multimedia Production, Journalism and Media Studies, Accountancy, Business Administration, Law, Networking and Cloud Computing, Software and Web Development, and institutional accreditation.
“This is part of the way the NBTE operates; every two years, they visit the schools for accreditation. It is a periodic thing to ensure quality assurance, and we are happy to receive the entire team, being confident that we have also been doing what is expected at our end, not to offend the rules.
“The visit also involves the accreditation of HND programmes of courses like Accountancy, Business Administration, Computer Science, that has now been unbundled so that our students can now begin to go for National Youth Service,” Adebayo said.
The provost reiterated the commitment of the management of the institution to continuous investment that will always place the school on a strong pedestal in the country.
The PUNCH
