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𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆 π‘¨π’Žπ’†π’π’…π’” 𝑭𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 π‘·π’π’π’šπ’•π’†π’„π’‰π’π’Šπ’„ 𝑨𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒐 π‘¨π’π’π’π’˜ 𝑩.𝑻𝒆𝒄𝒉 π‘«π’†π’ˆπ’“π’†π’† π‘¨π’˜π’‚π’“π’…π’” π’Šπ’ π‘Ίπ’„π’Šπ’†π’π’„π’† 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π‘»π’†π’„π’‰π’π’π’π’π’ˆπ’š

 

The Senate has taken a major step to close the long-standing gap between university and polytechnic graduates.

At plenary, lawmakers amended the Federal Polytechnic Act to allow federal polytechnics across the country to award Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degrees in science, engineering and other technology-related courses.

The amendment followed a motion by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, who called for a review of the Act to provide clearer administration and a stronger legal framework. After deliberations, Senate President Godswill Akpabio put it to a voice vote and the amendment was passed.

Before now, federal polytechnics were only allowed to award National Diplomas (ND) and Higher National Diplomas (HND). That restriction has now been lifted.

According to Premium Times, the new Section 2(1)(c) of the Act allows polytechnics to award http://B.Tech degrees to qualified holders of ND, HND or Postgraduate Diploma. However, there is a condition: the degree programmes must be accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and other relevant professional bodies before any degree can be awarded.

The amendment also covers leadership and administration in polytechnics.

Under the revised Section 8, governing councils will appoint rectors for a first term of five years, with the option of a second and final term of four years. Section 31 was also amended to clearly define the minister as the government official in charge of education.

For years, HND holders have complained about discrimination in the workplace. In the civil service, for example, they could enter on Grade Level 08 but often struggled to rise beyond Grade Level 14 without extra qualifications. The same barrier existed in many private companies.

This new law creates a legal pathway to address that challenge. However, its real impact will depend on two things how quickly the NUC accredits the new degree programmes, and how employers update their recruitment and promotion policies to recognise the B.Tech certificates.

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