Bugaje Insists Polytechnics Will Offer Degree, Faults ASUU

The Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Idris Bugaje, has faulted the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on reforms aimed at making polytechnics degree awarding institutions.

Bugaje said ASUU ought to know that polytechnics are not subordinate to universities and are not in competition with the university system.

Naijaonpoint reports that Professor Bugaje stated this in an interview with the New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

NBTE’s Executive Secretary noted this while reacting to the reported resistance from ASUU over the proposal to introduce Bachelor of Technology Honours (B.Tech Hons) degrees in polytechnics.

He stressed that the board is not imitating or mimicking the university system, stating that the degree system proposed is different from what universities offer.

“I know ASUU belongs to the ivory tower. We are not trying to mimic or copy what they have in the university system.

“Our own degree is different. It is going to be a degree based on three things: character, learning, and skills.

“Polytechnics are not feeders to the university system. We complement the universities. We run on a parallel path,” he said.

Bugaje argued that Nigeria’s industrialization journey may be a mirage until the polytechnic education system is restructured to produce the required manpower with the needed skills.

“This is a wake-up call, Nigeria’s industrialisation shall remain a mirage until we fix the polytechnic sector because that’s where the skills are,” he stated.

He appealed to ASUU to see polytechnics as partners in progress and not competitors.

“We are not trying to compete. We support each other. I appeal to all of you, especially ASUU, to please face your sector and leave us alone,” he added.