Advocacy, Policy & News

The opinion piece, published in the Vanguard newspaper on December 19, 2024, argued that discrimination between Higher National Diploma (HND) and Bachelor’s degree holders in employment, promotion, and remuneration is a disincentive to technical education enrolment in Nigeria. Dr. Achiatar called on the President to assent to the bill passed by the National Assembly that would legally eliminate this distinction, describing it as essential for the country’s industrialisation goals and global workforce competitiveness.

The formal letter, addressed to the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), detailed the severe consequences that discontinuation of JAMB’s student regularisation exercise would have on privately-owned polytechnics and monotechnics across Nigeria. APPN urged NBTE to use its regulatory authority to engage JAMB and secure a suspension of the proposed policy while a sustainable and equitable alternative is developed. The letter cited declining enrolment figures and the financial viability of member institutions as critical concerns.

In a formal letter to the Executive Secretary of NBTE, APPN highlighted the significant role that private polytechnics and monotechnics play in Nigeria’s technical education landscape and workforce development, and argued that their exclusion from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) represents a policy inequity that undermines their capacity to provide quality education. The letter called for legislative or administrative measures to include these institutions among TETFund beneficiaries, proportionate to their student enrolment figures and infrastructure needs.