The National Board for Technical Education has proposed amendments to the Polytechnic Act to empower polytechnics to award Bachelor of Technology honours degrees while retaining the National Diploma pathway.
The NBTE Director-General, Prof. Idris Bugaje, disclosed this at a strategic session organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council in Abuja on Wednesday.
During the engagement, stakeholders discussed ways to strengthen the link between technical education, research and industrial development.
Bugaje said, “The NBTE is pursuing proposed amendments to the Polytechnic Act to allow polytechnics to award Bachelor of Technology honours degrees while retaining the National Diploma pathway, as part of efforts to address the disparity between Higher National Diploma and university degree holders.”
He also disclosed that the NBTE was planning to provide between N1bn and N1.5bn to each polytechnic to establish production lines under its proposed One Product, One Polytechnic initiative.
According to him, the initiative, known as 1P1P, will require each polytechnic to manufacture at least one product locally to boost domestic production and reduce dependence on imports.
Bugaje said Nigeria’s reliance on foreign technology and manufactured goods reflected the weak connection between technical education and industrial development.
He cited simple products such as wheelbarrows as items that could be manufactured locally rather than imported.
“Nigerian researchers are not talking to the industry,” he said, urging researchers to engage manufacturers, consumers and other end-users from the beginning of their work to ensure that their findings addressed practical needs.
The NBTE boss called for industry-led curriculum reviews, modern laboratories and workshops, as well as stronger partnerships between polytechnics and private companies to improve practical training.
He cited the employment of thousands of Indian workers, including technicians, during the construction of the Dangote Refinery as evidence of Nigeria’s shortage of technical manpower.
Bugaje said polytechnics and technical and vocational education and training institutions deserved greater attention because of their role in producing skilled workers for manufacturing, infrastructure and technological innovation.
Also speaking, the Secretary-General of the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organisations, Dr Benjin Luo, called for stronger collaboration between academia and industry to accelerate technology transfer and commercialisation.
Luo, who also represents China’s National Innovation Center for Excellence, said researchers often lacked market analysis and customer insights needed to commercialise their findings, while many businesses could not afford to maintain their own research capacity.
He said his organisations could help translate industry needs into university research projects and facilitate the commercialisation of resulting innovations.
The Director-General of the RMRDC, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, said Nigeria needed to bridge the gap between research institutions and industry to maximise the economic value of its natural resources and research investments.
He said the council was pursuing international partnerships to promote technology transfer, capacity building and the commercialisation of research outputs.
A representative of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Dr Conforto-Chamberlain, said the fund was prioritising research capable of producing commercially viable products rather than academic publications alone.
She said TETFund was supporting centres of excellence and other research initiatives across tertiary institutions to translate research findings into practical outcomes.