HISTORIC SHIFT: FG Scraps HND, Empowers Polytechnics to Award Bachelor’s Degrees

In a major policy breakthrough on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, the Federal Government officially announced the abolition of the long-standing HND/B.Sc. dichotomy. During a high-level retreat in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, unveiled a sweeping reform that will transition Nigerian polytechnics into degree-awarding institutions.

The move is designed to end decades of professional discrimination against technical graduates and reposition polytechnics as equal partners to universities.

The “New Deal” for Technical Education

The reform, which aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, focuses on several key areas:

• Degree-Awarding Status: Polytechnics are now authorized to award Bachelor’s degrees (specifically B.Tech in Science, Technology, and Engineering).
• HND Phase-Out: The Higher National Diploma (HND) framework will be largely scrapped. Science and engineering courses will move to the degree model, while some non-science programmes may retain the HND with a clearer progression path to postgraduate studies.
• Legislative Action: An amendment to the Federal Polytechnics Act has already reached an advanced stage, having passed its second reading in the House of Representatives.
• Equal Opportunity: The reform mandates that degree holders from polytechnics must be treated identically to university graduates in terms of recruitment, salary, and career progression (Level 14 promotion ceiling for HND holders is to be removed).

TETFund’s 2026 Engineering Intervention

To support this massive transition, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is rolling out a specialized support package for 2026:

• Infrastructure Upgrade: A special intervention has been approved to modernize polytechnic engineering schools with state-of-the-art AI and robotics equipment.
• Global Benchmarks: This follows a successful 2025 pilot that upgraded 12 medical colleges. The goal is to ensure polytechnic degrees meet international technical standards.
• Funding Boost: TETFund’s 2026 budget includes a specific allocation of ₦1.87 billion for each beneficiary polytechnic to strengthen research capacity and digital manufacturing hubs.

What This Means for Students & Graduates

“The future of our youth depends on the transformation we ignite today. Polytechnics must no longer be seen as inferior, but as the engine room of our industrial growth.” — Dr. Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education.