THE National Board for Technical Education has cautioned all professional and examination bodies in Nigeria to desist from the illegal conduct and award of National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) certificates.
This was contained in a statement issued to newsmen yesterday in Kaduna by the Executive Secretary (ES) of NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, through the board’s Head, Media and Publicity, Fatima Abubakar.
She said Bugaje had issued a circular, expressing concern over the activities of certain professional and examination bodies purporting to design, conduct, and award ND and HND certificates in various disciplines.
He described such actions as illegal and a violation of the NBTE’s establishing Act.
According to her, the NBTE remains the only body legally empowered under the Federal Government Decree No. 9 of 1977, as amended by Act 16 of 1985, to approve, accredit, and regulate all programmes leading to the award of ND and HND certificates in Nigeria.
The board further clarified that only accredited Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, including Polytechnics, Colleges of Nursing Sciences, Colleges of Health, Colleges of Agriculture, and other specialised institutions that meet prescribed standards were authorised to run ND and HND programmes.
The NBTE, therefore, warned that it would not hesitate to take regulatory and legal action against any professional or examination body found engaging in such illegal practices.
The board urged all the stakeholders and the public to take note and ensure strict compliance with established regulations governing technical education in the country.
In September, NBTE maintained that it would sustain its crackdown on mushroom entities calling themselves polytechnics and thereby impinging on the government’s strong commitment to delivering qualitative education across the country.