Recommendations on the upliftment of polytechnic to degree awarding institution featured in so many reports submitted to federal government by several committees setup in the time past where it’s majorly agreed that products of polytechnics have out grown the “middle level” adjective used in judging the mental capacities of their graduates. However the stage of implementation is where all the reports can’t scale through due to high politics of superiority among universities and polytechnics’ regulatory bodies coupled with the insincerity of purpose by government offi cials assigned to the job.
Th e 1999 report submitted by the federal government committee on the review of polytechnic education headed by Adamu Yabani, popularly referred to as Yabani report, best proff er solutions to the problem of polytechnic education in Nigeria with a clearly mapped out chart that addresses the superiority of degree and diploma regulatory bodies. As contained in the report, polytechnics should award National Diploma (ND) at fi rst stage, Bachelor in Technology (B.Tech) at second stage and higher degrees as off ered in the universities.. Th e recent conversion of Mashood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) to Mashood Abiola University of Technology (MAUTECH) calls for the need to revisit Yabani report to safeguard the educational future of students currently in the system, students holding the institution’s ND certifi cate and serve as a model to the upgrade of other polytechnics in the country.
Th e transformation of the institutions is a litmus test that will go a long way in describing the future of polytechnic education in Nigeria, the decision to keep or wipe out the awards of National Diploma in the institutions is a win or a lose to Nigerian polytechnic education. Th e failure to adhere with recommendations of Yabani report in the transformation of MAPOLY to MAUTECH will be tantamount to the systematic killing of polytechnic education in Nigeria, the fate of polytechnic education hangs in the balance as so many states will follow suit if all went well with the MAPOLY conversion. Th e good intention of the Ogun State government will be best appreciated if carefully and diligently implemented, what is expected is an upgrade of the institution not a total conversion into a conventional university. MAUTECH is a hope brought to realization only if the recommendations outlined for the creation of universities of technology are followed to the later beyond what we have now in the country, universities of technology are expected to be an institution for the advancement of polytechnic education perhaps they run similar mandate but in the reality of it they still discriminate against the polytechnics though its just a name and recognition diff erence they off er same quality of education to students. Nigeria is a step closer to polytechnic education reform if we get it right from the upgrade of MAPOLY to an institution where the base as polytechnic is fi rmly rooted by the continuous award of National Diploma and the abolishment of dichotomy by awarding B.Tech in place of HND. With this, the dichotomy of HND and BSC will be a forgone issue yet we will still have the middle level man power graduates for relative assignment as described in the polytechnic establishment act. Comrade Olugbode Damola Hammed NAPS National PRO
