Today, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has announced a one-year moratorium on the establishment of new polytechnics and monotechnics. This decision was made public through a statement by Prof. Idris Bugaje, the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), on Thursday.
Details of the Moratorium
Effective immediately, all new applications for the registration of polytechnics and monotechnics will be suspended for 12 months. This pause aims to manage the population of existing Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions within their approved carrying capacities.
Health institutions are notably exempt from this moratorium. The decision to exclude health institutions stems from challenges related to low enrollment in these facilities, ensuring that the sector does not suffer from the same restriction.
Financial Implications for Ongoing Applications
For institutions currently in the process of obtaining approval:
- Polytechnics awaiting ministerial approval will need to pay an application fee of N4 million and a processing fee of N2 million per program of study.
- Monotechnics will have to submit an application fee of N2 million and a processing fee of N1 million per program of study.
Applicants must settle these fees within 30 days; otherwise, their registration process will be terminated. The same fee structure applies to new health institutions which are not subject to the moratorium.
Purpose of the Moratorium
Prof. Bugaje emphasized that the primary goal of this policy is to ensure that TVET institutions operate within their designated capacities, thereby maintaining quality education and training standards across Nigeria.
This strategic pause in new registrations will allow the government to assess and optimize the current educational infrastructure, ensuring that resources are utilized efficiently and that educational standards are not compromised by overcrowding or under-resourcing.
