The National Board for Technical Education says the new online top-up programme for Higher National Diploma holders to acquire a Bachelor’s Degree for one year, with foreign accredited universities, is meant for HND holders who want to pursue an academic career.
The NBTE Head of Media Unit, Hajiya Fatima Abubakar, offered
the clarification in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.
Abubakar quoted the board’s Chief Executive, Prof. Idris
Bugaje, saying the programme is not for all the HND holders but rather for
those who have the ambition to further their career in an academic environment
such as teaching and 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.
He said the clarification came on the heels of
misunderstandings about the programme in a section of the media.
According to him, the top-up is not bringing an end to HND
programmes in Polytechnics but rather provides choice to HND holders wanting to
go for 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 said.
Bugaje, during the unveiling of the programme earlier this
month, said the initiative would ease the suffering of HND holders in the
country.
He said the board had to find an alternative route, which
was for HND holders to do a one-year top-up, in conjunction with some foreign
universities.
”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 emphasised.