The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has strongly criticized the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for its plan to outsource quality assurance responsibilities, labeling the move as an attempt to commercialize the regulation of polytechnics in Nigeria. In a statement released on Saturday, ASUP President Shammah Kpanja expressed the union’s firm rejection of the policy, arguing that it undermines the credibility and integrity of the accreditation process for technical and vocational education institutions.
The controversial policy, reportedly approved by the Minister of Education, aims to transfer NBTE’s accreditation and quality assurance duties to private vendors. The NBTE has justified the move by citing inadequate personnel, noting that it currently oversees 789 institutions nationwide. However, ASUP contends that outsourcing such a critical function to private firms would lead to conflicts of interest, compromise educational standards, and risk the confidentiality of sensitive institutional data.
Kpanja emphasized that the core of NBTE’s mandate lies in quality assurance, particularly the accreditation and reaccreditation of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs. “This responsibility is currently the target of this outsourcing policy,” he said. “This strange policy brings into question the continued relevance of the NBTE as a public institution.”
The ASUP President warned that the union would collaborate with key stakeholders to resist the policy, stressing that allowing profit-driven private entities to handle accreditation would weaken regulatory oversight and impose additional financial burdens on institutions already grappling with inadequate funding. “The key justification of the NBTE in pursuing this policy is the fact that it is overwhelmed by the number of institutions in its regulatory portfolio,” Kpanja stated. “Our union has repeatedly highlighted this issue, leading to the ongoing legislative efforts to unbundle the NBTE and establish a dedicated National Commission for Polytechnics, in line with the regulatory frameworks for universities and colleges of education.”
Kpanja reiterated ASUP’s demand for the unbundling of the NBTE and the creation of a National Commission for Polytechnics to regulate the tertiary division of TVET. He also recalled that during a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the NBTE on March 4, 2025, participants rejected the outsourcing proposal and instead advocated for the digitization of quality assurance processes.
ASUP has called for the immediate rollback of the outsourcing policy, the acceleration of digital platforms for quality assurance activities with enforceable deadlines, and the provision of adequate technical support and funding to drive the digitization initiative. The union remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria’s polytechnic education system and ensuring that regulatory processes remain transparent, effective, and free from commercial interests.
