It was acknowledged at the outset that polytechnic education had been in recession for decades due partly to low investment in the sector and partly to emphasis on university education. That’s why chairpersons of polytechnics, rectors, registrars, bursars, and state commissioners of education throughout the country attended a retreat on ways to improve polytechnic education. For 6 hours a day over two days (January 21-22, 2026), in the tech-resourced TETFund Auditorium, eight papers were presented and discussed, four per day, each for a full hour. The following summary is infused with my own reflections on the presentations and discussions.
In his opening address, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, drew attention to the renewed goals of polytechnic education under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the need to align polytechnic education with the national manpower needs and development goals: “Innovation must be the heartbeat of our polytechnics; therefore, I urge you to foster entrepreneurship centres, research hubs, and industry partnerships that turn ideas into prototypes, inventions into enterprises, which will graduate students into job creators. Polytechnics should lead in areas like renewable energy, agriculture technology, digital manufacturing, and climate-resilient solutions directly contributing to Nigeria’s sustainable development goals.”
Seven major issues:
•Leadership and governance
Typical governance problems in polytechnics were discussed and various approaches to solving them were highlighted. The problems range from funding shortages and poor infrastructure through inadequate lab and teaching facilities to undue external interference in internal affairs. The problems notwithstanding, effective governance and leadership accountability are necessary for sustaining the mission of the polytechnic.
2 Social cohesion
Emphasis was placed on (a) the need to foster collaboration and good relationships among governing council, management, and unions; (b) the need to foster effective relationships among management, staff, and students; and (c) the need to maintain harmonious relationships among institutional management, staff, students, and the host community, realising that a good number of staff and students reside within the host community.
3 Financial management
Financial prudence is critical to achieving the mission of the polytechnic, more so in the face of funding shortages. One area in which fiscal management could be optimised is procurement. There was an exhaustive presentation on procurement procedures, based on compliance with the Procurement Act. I strongly recommend this presentation to all procurement officers and members of the Tenders Board throughout the federation. Equally important is the presentation by an ICPC official on how to identify pitfalls in financial operations and how to avoid corrupt practices in fund utilization.
It must be noted, however, that the procurement procedures are too cumbersome for efficiency. No wonder specially trained officers are required to be in charge. Yet the complicated procedures involved often leave gaps for oversight managers to exploit. There are over ten such groups from various ministries and both Houses of the National Assembly looking into various aspects of polytechnic management. In addition to visiting the campuses, oversight managers often invite one or more members of the polytechnic management to Abuja to explain or defend this or that. But even where there are no clear complaints, these managers often have to be settled. The expenses incurred by the polytechnics on accommodation, transport, and settlement fees amount to a drain on the inadequate resources of the polytechnics with little or no impact on quality assurance.
• ICT and digital transformation
In keeping with presidential directive on ICT compliance, polytechnics should adopt digitization across the institution to enhance efficiency in governance, teaching, learning, and research. The presentation and discussion of this topic highlighted the need for polytechnics to prepare candidates for the fourth industrial revolution, spurred by the Internet, digitsation, and the adoption of AI tools for enhanced efficiency.
• Quality assurance
Quality assurance enhances efficiency, reduces costs, and boosts stakeholders’ confidence. It is necessary to ensure standards in governance, teaching, fiscal management, and ethical practices. Quality assurance in polytechnics is diffuse, if there is any at all. The so-called oversight managers appear to be after collection rather than correction and after quantity rather than quality. It is unclear how the planned establishment of a Polytechnic Commission (after National Universities Commission) will provide desired quality assurance, which the NBTE appears unable to provide.
•Human capital development and staff welfare
The renewed focus on polytechnic education requires the upgrade of the lecturers’ skills, slaries, and allowances as well as clear owed allowances. In was, therefore, good news that the federal government was negotiating with polytechnic unions for salary upgrade and unpaid allowances. TETFund has been helpful to the polytechnics for faculty and staff training. However, polytechnic lecturers have not been tapping enough into available funds for research.
•Polytechnic-industry linkage
It is important to establish and strengthen linkages with local industries to establish or enhance internships, practical training, and apprenticeships. Where there are no industries in the area, construction companies, reputable roadside mechanics, welders, plumbers, electricians, and other artisans at work can provide practical training for students.
Major challenges
• Irregular and grossly inadequate funding for capital projects and recurrent expenses. Moreover, statutory intervention funds are delayed or not disbursed at all. The rigmarole before approved funds could be accessed often causes unnecessary delay. This has ripple effects across the institution, including dampened morale, lowered quality, and, sometimes, loss of funds.
•Poor and inadequate infrastructure and deficiencies in workshop and laboratory facilities. The minister announced a special TETFund intervention fund for upgrading engineering schools with modern, industry-standard equipment. But what about the other programmes?
•Teaching and technical staff shortages and limited opportunities for staff development and career progression.
• Outdated currcula that are out of alignment with needed industry skills and current technologies need urgent upgrade.
• Despite policy emphasis on ICT compliance, ICT infrastructure is limited or lacking. As a result, there is limited digital teaching capacity and low e-learning readiness. TETFund is one of a few institutions in Africa to have invested heavily in Blackboard, an online learning tool, but it has hardly translated to use beyond Abuja.
• There are serious security concerns and safety issues on many polytechnics, especially newer ones without perimeter fencing. This requires urgent intervention in view of rampant security breaches in educational institutions.
• There are serious constraints on institutional autonomy worsened by delayed release of statutory approvals and external interference in management processes. The menace of numerous “oversight managers” from various ministries and the National Assembly is particularly aggravating to the polytechnic management. Unfortunately, polytechnic Governing Councils have been rendered too ceremonial to be of help to the management.
Key recommendations
Federal and state governments should increase funding for polytechnic education and ensure regularity in the release of statutory allocations and intervention funds.
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Federal and state governments should also take measures to enhance the autonomy of polytechnic institutions to encourage effective compliance with their mission.
Polytechnics should be encouraged to collaborate with security agencies and community stakeholders to develop campus security protocols and emergency response plans.
New curricula are long overdue to align polytechnic education with national development goals and industry needs.
Finally, Governing Councils should cease to be a ceremonial haven for political jobbers. Rather, they should be empowered to hire, promote, and discipline management and staff, maintain quality, and raise necessary funds to carry out the polytechnic’s mission.
Conclusion
The zeal with which the present Minister of Education is implementing the administration’s Renewed Hope agenda on education is commendable. But a level playing field is assumed for all universities and polytechnics, which makes it difficult to achieve excellence. It is necessary to identify selected universities and polytechnics and develop high performing ones into Centres of Excellence through special funding for which development goals would be set with measurable kpis. Turkey has joined China and India in doing so.
Today, Turkey has at least 23 institutions in the top 500 in Europe. In the forefront is Turkey’s Middle East Technical University (METU) which “secured its position as the national leader by scoring highest in academic reputation, employer reputation, and international research network indicators.” Excellence does not result from wishful thinking or funding alone, but from careful planning and achieving set targets.
