The Federal Government has unveiled plans to overhaul Nigeria’s polytechnic education system, positioning it as a driver of job creation, innovation, and sustainable development.
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, made the call on Wednesday at a retreat in Abuja for polytechnic and college leaders, stressing that technical institutions must become hubs of entrepreneurship, research, and industry-ready skills. “Polytechnics are not mere institutions; they are crucibles where innovation meets practicality, where skills forge economic resilience,” he said.
Alausa outlined priority areas such as renewable energy, agricultural technology, digital manufacturing, and climate-resilient solutions. He urged governing councils to embrace transparency, accountability, and merit-based leadership, warning that the era of impunity in polytechnics was over. He also announced a special TETFund intervention to upgrade engineering schools with modern equipment.
The minister acknowledged challenges including poor funding, outdated facilities, and societal bias against technical education, but expressed confidence that reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda would provide infrastructure upgrades and policy support.
Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education (COHEADS), Dr. Sani Tunga, described the retreat as timely, noting that polytechnics are central to producing skilled manpower for Nigeria’s diversification agenda. He highlighted recurring conflicts between governing councils, management, and staff unions as issues that must be resolved to ensure progress.
Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, added that technical education predates universities in Nigeria but has suffered decades of neglect. He pointed out that Nigeria currently has only 153 technical colleges compared to over 15,000 secondary schools, underscoring the imbalance. Bugaje credited recent reforms by Alausa for reviving the sector, saying NBTE is being “re-engineered and reinvented” after years of decline.
The retreat brought together top education leaders to chart a path toward skills-driven national development, with a shared goal of making polytechnics central to tackling unemployment, boosting local industry, and positioning Nigeria as a technological powerhouse.
