Polytechnic Entry Requirement Now Five Credits—NBTE

Stories by BOLAJOKO OGUNGBILE

The national Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has harmonized the entry requirement of polytechnics with that of universities ahead of the commencement of the award of Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree by the Polytechnics
This was disclosed by the Executive secretary of the board, Engnr Dr. Nuru Yakubu at the consultative meeting of NBTE and Heads of   Polytechnics/Monotechnics on the implementation of New/Revised curricula in Kaduna last week.
According to him, making the polytechnics entry requirements equivalent to 100 level university undergraduates had become imperative in view of government approval of polytechnics to start running B.Tech degree programmes and the removal of GL 14 career progression on the products of polytechnics.
He expressed gratitude to the government that the struggle for the award of degrees by the polytechnics has finally yielded result and stressed that the institutions must brace up for the challenges and not to compromise standards.
He also said that the meeting called by the board to deliberate on the new/revised curricula put in place explained that commencement of the B.Tech degrees and the imperatives of development have introduced a host of new challenges for the curriculum. While giving reasons behind some of the features of the revised curricula, observed that Yakubu noted that there is urgent need to institutionalize ICT modules in all programmes to equip trainees to meet increasing hi-tech and automation demanded by modern industry.
He noted also that the shrinkage of public sector and the ever-increasing unemployment coupled with the attendant need for higher productivity necessitated the incorporation of entrepreneurship education in the curricula, adding that the form and format of assessment and accreditation have also been overhauled.
"Hitherto, our accreditation process had laid the greatest emphasis on input such as facilities, entry characteristics of students, teachers’ qualifications and experience among other things, with the corresponding emphasis on efficiency of curriculum delivery, instructor's effectiveness and quality, graduates quality and employability as well as feedback from industry relatively low". He observed.
Speaking further, he said, "If our curricula and programmes are to be truly outcome -based and demand rather than supply-driven, there must be greater emphasis on outcomes in our assessment".
 He observed that while everyone is conscious of the importance of modern instructional equipment and techniques, there appears to be inadequate concern for necessity of extended training of lecturers and support staff for capacity building. He tasked the heads of polytechnics on the need for capacity building which he said "is sine qua non for successful implementation of the new curricula".