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A U-Turn for the Federal Government Over Polytechnics to Degree Awarding Institution

Bulus Pius Kapya

Few years ago the Obasanjo’s led government announced and declared that two prestigious polytechnics in the country should be change into university as degree awarding institution and their name should be named ‘City Universities’ and the polytechnics are Yaba College of Technology (Yaba Tech), Lagos and Kaduna Polytechnic (Kadpoly), Kaduna. But the change of government does its worse; the Yar’adua government came and revised the proposed planned. Yar’adua government is not a government that can add blocks to a foundation lay or build upon instead put an ice water and petrol to destroy it.

When this announcement was made that these polytechnic would be change into university almost 99.9% of the Nigerian youths jubilate over it because if this would have been done it would reduce the stranded ness face by Nigerian applicant who are searching for admission into the few Nigeria universities which cannot offer admission to its citizens.

The Nigerian universities that we have in the country are too small to absorb the vast number of SSCE applicants who are seeking for admission year after years and worse still, the then, Minister of education under the Obasanjo regime, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili pronounced that the universities in the country should reduce the number of candidate admitting into the university to 5,000 candidates where she knows that the population of Nigerian applicant who are seeking for admission are more than the available university that we have in the country. Infant this her declaration caused a lot of Nigerian applicant stranded because of admission and this encourage a lots of armed robber in the country simply because, if ones waited for admission for four to five years and yet did not get the admission, the thought that will come to such person mind is to engage in any dastardly act.

Sometime our government are implementing some policy but they are not minding whether it have a negative impact to the general public or not; but all they care is just what they will say or implement as a decree. The then minister of education policy causes a lot of harm than good to the general populace. Anything they do it’s the poor masses that feel the consequences because they have their people whom they will be flying them to go and study in abroad.

Recently, there was a moved by the National Assembly that they will pass into a law a bill that will enable some polytechnics in the country to be awarding a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) but still they could not make any effort for that. Nigeria government are not making any efforts in education, it is say education is a bedrock of any development and education is the key to progress and development and also one of the best legacies to bequeath to individuals, groups and the society, but this assertion is not at work in the country.

Nigeria government and the mentality of its citizen do not like changes but a change is inevitable for self-development. If you want to change the life and prepare the future of Nigerian citizen who are about to educate themselves to be bright and for better, it must be done flamboyantly. Remember a change starts when you take the first step. Nigeria should take a step by making the National Assembly to see it as a matter of utmost urgency to pass a bill that will allow polytechnics to be running a degree programmes henceforth and to be specific this 2009/2010 academic year.

It is hard time Nigeria to equate polytechnic graduate to its university counterparts. It is annoying and alarming to see a university graduate given special treatment than its polytechnic counterpart where you see their level of education is the same. This normally happen in almost all government and private organization where a polytechnic graduate will be employed together with a university graduate and a polytechnic graduate will be given a salary grade level 07 while a university graduate is given salary grade level 08, when will this disparity between the polytechnic and university graduates end?.

Many developed countries in the world have polytechnics and make such polytechnic to be awarding a degree courses and if Nigeria can follow suit to make or turn our existing polytechnics to be awarding a degree programmes in this way it will solve the lingering problem of the disparity among the graduate of both institution.

These days many Nigerian applicants prefer university to polytechnic simply because of the dichotomy between the graduate in the labour market and if the Nigeria government can realize this plight of its citizen then our country will wear a new face.

It is not longer a news when you see the number of candidate who are applying into the university through JAMB (UME) each year are more than the number applying into polytechnic through (MPCE). These have shown that our country needs to do something to cushion this menace from occurring.

The federal government are reminded to revisit the implementation made by the then Obasanjo’s led government to make it happen by name Yaba Tech. Lagos and Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna, to its already announced CITY UNIVERSITY to come into being which will enable them to be offer a degree programmes.

The national assembly is to expedite effort to pass into law the bill that will enable some standard polytechnics and the college of education in the country to be offer a degree programme to avoid the congestion of applicant aspiring to apply to the existing university.

If this is done our nation would experience a smooth growth of its economy.