21 January 2026
The Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu has announced a sweeping reform of Nigeria’s tertiary education system, moving to scrap the Higher National Diploma (HND) and grant polytechnics the authority to award degrees.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, made this known on Wednesday in Abuja while addressing a high-level retreat attended by council chairmen, rectors and key stakeholders in the polytechnic sector.
According to the minister, the decision is aimed at ending decades of discrimination against polytechnic graduates and abolishing the long-standing dichotomy between HND holders and university degree graduates, which has hindered career progression and professional recognition for technically trained Nigerians.
Alausa said the policy would reposition polytechnics as centres of excellence, stressing that they should no longer be viewed as inferior to universities but as equal partners in national development.
“Nigeria’s future depends on a workforce that can create, build and solve real-world problems,” the minister said, noting that this practical problem-solving capacity remains the core strength of the polytechnic system.
He assured stakeholders that strict regulatory frameworks and quality assurance mechanisms would be put in place to ensure that degrees awarded by polytechnics meet both national and global standards.
Beyond academic reforms, the minister issued a stern warning to polytechnic administrators on corruption, emphasizing that transparency, accountability and zero tolerance for financial misconduct must guide the management of the institutions.
Alausa also announced a special intervention by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to upgrade engineering schools in polytechnics with modern, state-of-the-art equipment to boost technical and vocational training.
While acknowledging persistent challenges such as outdated infrastructure and societal bias against technical education, the minister urged polytechnic leaders to embrace innovation in critical areas including renewable energy, digital manufacturing and applied technology.
“The future of our youth, our economy and our nation depends on the transformation we ignite here today,” he said.
The policy shift comes amid years of agitation by stakeholders and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), as well as renewed calls for the passage of the HND Discrimination (Prohibition) Bill, which seeks to end unequal treatment of polytechnic graduates in Nigeria’s public and private sector
