The Director of Polytechnic and Allied Programmes, NBTE, Fatimah Kabir Umar, disclosed this while speaking to newsmen during the NBTE’s accreditation visit to Harvarde College of Science, Business and Management Studies, Obada, Abeokuta.

The NBTE stated 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.

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.”

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, with the institutions lacking the facilities, qualified staff, or curricula to provide credible education, which can jeopardise students’ futures and undermine national education goals.

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.

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.

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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, 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.

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.

Source: Punch