NBTE Mandates Skill Acquisition For Polytechnic Students Before Graduation

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) on Friday, said it has included a skill qualification program in its curriculum.

NBTE said this means students in the Polytechnics would have to acquire a skill related to their course of study before they could be qualified to graduate.

The Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje, made this known in an interaction with the News Agency of Nigeria on the board’s newly launched top-up programme for Higher National Diploma holders to acquire a Bachelor of Science in their choice course.

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“From this October, we are adding a skill qualification to every curriculum in the NBTE and if you do not acquire the skills qualification you will not graduate.

”We are starting with HND computer science, we have unbundled the course into four. Students will now have to go to Cisco, Microsoft, or any of these big players and get a skills certificate on a particular skill.

“So we call this dual certification and this will create employment for Nigerians and as well provide a market for Nigerian youths.

“Indians are taking advantage of that, Bangladesh which has the same population as Nigeria has 11,500 youths working in different parts of the world. Morocco exports almost half a million youths to the Middle East.

“So we are saying that Nigerians should not be left behind. They must take advantage of the skills and opportunities they have around them,” he said.

• Kazeem Badmus