Nigeria’s technical education sector is now facing one of its biggest crises in decades. As more polytechnics are being converted into universities, teachers, students, and industry experts are warning that the country may soon lose the very institutions that produce the nation’s skilled workforce.
Polytechnics were created to offer practical, hands-on training in technology, engineering, management, applied sciences, and commerce. For years, they supplied the middle-level manpower that kept factories running, powered construction sites, and supported innovation across industries. However, declining enrolment, discrimination against Higher National Diploma (HND) holders, and policy inconsistency are pushing these institutions towards extinction.
According to JAMB statistics, only 9% of the 1.59 million UTME applicants in 2023 chose polytechnics or colleges of education. Over the last five years, only 1 per cent of applicants preferred polytechnics, showing a growing lack of interest among young Nigerians.
Nevertheless, university admission spaces are nowhere near enough to absorb the millions of school leavers seeking higher education every year.
The most recent institution to join the conversion trend is Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Nigeria’s first higher institution, founded in 1947. The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced that President Bola Tinubu had approved the college’s upgrade to a university, citing the college’s strong academic manpower. While the institution’s management welcomed the development, it drew sharp criticism from key stakeholders.
The National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) warned that turning polytechnics into universities would erase their unique mandate of practical, industry-focused training. NAPS president Eshiofune Oghayan argued that developed countries like Germany, China, and Canada are expanding—not collapsing—their polytechnic systems because they understand the link between technical education and industrial growth.
Similarly, ASUP President, Dr Anderson Ezeibe, described the conversion trend as a sign of “policy inconsistency.” He insisted that the solution is not to eliminate polytechnics but to empower them to award Bachelor of Technology degrees, end the HND–BSc dichotomy, and strengthen technical curricula.
Some policymakers, however, believe the upgrades will expand access to university education. However, polytechnic leaders disagree, insisting that Nigeria should invest in skills development, research, and infrastructure—not turn every institution into a theory-based university.
At a meeting in Calabar, the Governing Councils of Polytechnics called for NBTE to be upgraded into a full commission that can reposition technical education for the future.
For many stakeholders, the message is simple: a country that abandons its polytechnics risks abandoning its industrial future.
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