A major shift in Nigeria’s education landscape is underway, as the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) disclosed that the Higher National Diploma (HND) programme may be scrapped by 2026 to end the perceived bias against its holders.
The Executive Secretary of the Board, Idris Bugaje, a professor, disclosed this on Thursday at the 2025 Annual Summit of the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria (EWAN), held at the University of Lagos, Akoka. The summit, themed ‘Nigeria’s Obsession with Paper Qualification and the Integrity of Public Examinations: Is TVET the Way Forward?’, brought together key stakeholders in the education sector.
DevReporting reports that the HND–BSc dichotomy continues to influence public sector recruitment, workplace hierarchies, and enrolment into technical institutions across Nigeria.
According to Mr Bugaje, who was represented by the Board’s south-west zonal director, Ayo Aroge, the long-standing bias against HND holders is undermining technical and vocational education in the country.
He disclosed that a proposal before the National Assembly seeks the complete abolition of the HND qualification and the transition of polytechnics into degree-awarding institutions, with the capacity to offer the Master of Technology (MTech) where feasible.
“In a country serious about education, technical colleges should be given greater priority, as we cannot keep looking for solutions where they do not exist. We need more technical colleges.
“The only federal polytechnic in Lagos State is already being converted into a university. At this rate, Lagos State may have no polytechnic by 2026. Recently, in China, 600 universities were converted into polytechnics, but in Nigeria, the reverse is happening,” he said.
Also speaking on the scrapping of the HND certification, the chairman of the occasion and former rector of Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Olawunmi Gasper, an engineer, expressed his support for the proposal.
He argued that recruitment in modern workplaces should prioritise skill and proficiency over certificates. “The issues surrounding the HND certificate have persisted for many years and continue to worsen. I agree with the NBTE on scrapping the HND. Let’s retain the National Diploma, and anyone who wants a degree should go to a university. It is a complex matter,” he said.
Data reinforces the trend
Data obtained from the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) further reinforces the earlier point about Nigeria’s overwhelming preference for university degrees over technical routes.
In 2023, less than 9 per cent of candidates who sought admission into tertiary institutions enrolled for polytechnics, while 91 per cent opted for universities.
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Of the 1,595,773 candidates who applied for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), 1,453,797 (91 per cent) opted for universities, while polytechnics, colleges of education, and other enterprise institutions accounted for the remaining 141,976 candidates, representing just 9 per cent.
Stakeholders call for skill-based reforms
Speakers at the EWAN summit, including heads of examination bodies, universities, academic groups, and regulatory agencies, agreed that the nation’s emphasis on certificates over competence has weakened standards, encouraged malpractice, and hindered national development.
They called for a shift towards technical and vocational education, improved teacher quality, investment in digital assessment systems, and better communication of reforms to the public.
Across the panel sessions, experts examined the roots of Nigeria’s certificate culture, highlighting how weak enforcement, inconsistent policies, curriculum gaps, and social pressures have reinforced a system that rewards paper qualifications over actual competence.
They also stressed that examination malpractice, shortcuts to academic success, and educational corruption are symptoms of a broader structural imbalance in which society values degrees more than practical skills.
While acknowledging ongoing reforms in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), curriculum design, and digital examination processes, they emphasised that only decisive action and strict implementation can reverse the decline.
Certificates vs competence
The chairman of the summit, Mr Gasper, opened discussions with a blunt assessment of the values driving Nigeria’s educational choices, saying the country has operated for decades on a “philosophy that equates certificates with competence, character and productivity.”
According to him, this fixation has created a culture where the aim of schooling is no longer knowledge or genuine mastery but simply obtaining certificates, even through unethical means.
“I have witnessed the compromise of integrity in our system through examination malpractice, collusion, leakages and other forms of corruption. When society worships certificates over creativity, practical ability, innovation and character, shortcuts and unethical practices naturally prevail.”
He questioned the worth of examinations that fail to measure competence and warned that no nation can progress when credibility in its education system is widely doubted.
Mr Gasper argued that technical and vocational education is fundamental to industrialisation, innovation and employment, yet society continues to perceive TVET as “a fallback option for those who ‘fail’ academically.”
He noted that reforms under the Federal Ministry of Education, including upgraded technical colleges, industry-aligned curricula, renewable-energy programmes and digital assessments, show a shift towards a skill-driven economy.
“TVET is not a lesser path, it is built on skills, creativity, innovation and problem-solving,” he said, urging more programmes that blend technical mastery with entrepreneurship.
He stressed that reforms must secure assessment processes through digitalisation, retrain instructors, strengthen industry partnerships and promote apprenticeships. “The time for difficult conversations has passed. Now is the time for decisive action,” he said.
Examination bodies call for reforms to fix exam integrity
The Registrar of National Examinations Council (NECO), Ibrahim Dantani, a professor during the first panel session titled, ‘Paper qualifications and examinations integrity: Addressing the nexus’, said certification should reflect the value of knowledge and skills gained over time.
Mr Dantani noted that meaningful learning in Nigeria is undermined by gaps in curriculum quality, teacher preparation, school infrastructure and assessment design.
“Are we implementing competence-based curricula in Nigeria? If so, are we implementing them correctly?” he asked, criticising social attitudes that elevate university pathways above practical training even among highly educated families.
To correct these distortions, he said the system must redesign curricula, retrain teachers, improve infrastructure and enforce implementation guidelines with consistency. Only then, can education yield genuine competence.
The Head of National Office (HNO) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Amos Dangut, emphasised the importance of certification, noting that even those who study TVET should be certified at the end of their training. “The gap between competence, holding the certificate, and being able to defend it remains a concern.”
He further explained that this disconnect contributes to exam malpractice, which is closely linked to poor preparation, societal pressure, and inadequate early education. Many students cheat not out of confidence but because, as he noted, “they do not understand their own deficiencies.”
Mr Dangut, who was represented by the Council’s Senior Deputy Registrar for Test Development, Rosemary Ojo-Odide, maintained that exams are meant to be diagnostic tools, not a do-or-die affair, citing instances where students sought shortcuts instead of fully engaging with the learning process.
He expressed concern over the use of Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) phones and emerging digital tricks that compromise examinations, despite the presence of metal detectors and surveillance.
The HNO also highlighted deeper structural issues, including inadequate early-childhood education, limited societal support, and the admission of students who have not completed lower-level requirements.
To tighten control, he said WAEC had set up an Examination Intelligence Committee, strengthened collaboration with security agencies, digitalised monitoring and supervision, and overhauled continuous assessment procedures.
“Since moving fully to CBT, we have recorded less than one per cent malpractice, a figure within global acceptable standards,” he added, noting that digital administration limits opportunities for cheating and ensures greater fairness.
NAPPS flags coordination failures
The President of National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Yomi Otubela, linked the roots of malpractice to poor policy implementation and weak coordination among stakeholders. Speaking on the gradual introduction of CB-WASSCE, he said the execution requires careful planning and involvement of all relevant stakeholder.
“The model of execution calls for caution. We are in total alignment with a little exception. The exception will be that the examination should start in about three years from now, given that a whole lot of stakeholders are involved and they have not been perfectly involved in the co-ordination.”
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He said parents, teachers, WAEC, NECO and even the Ministry of Education lacked clarity on the implementation timeliness. He also criticised inconsistencies in the curriculum rollout, noting that schools were directed to begin a new curriculum by September 2025 even though the supporting documents had not been released.
“Asking students to choose some of these subjects that have not been included in the the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) syllabus is truly painful,” he said, noting that such gaps contribute directly to malpractice as implementation failures create confusion and push students towards shortcuts when the system itself is unstable.
Beyond policy gaps, he highlighted infrastructure challenges, especially in public schools, saying majority of the CBT centers in Nigeria use fairly used computers. What is the federal government doing?” he asked.
He questioned why examination bodies receive grants while schools are left without support, arguing that the absence of adequate facilities undermines any effort to enforce digital examinations.
To reduce malpractice, he said Nigeria must first invest in ICT infrastructure in both public and private schools so that students become familiar with CBT long before final examinations. He added that continuous assessment should also be digital if the system expects fairness.
Competence over credentials
The vice chancellor of UNILAG, Folashade Ogunsola, a professor, also echoed the call to rethink the national obsession with certificates. She said Nigeria must begin rewarding competence and the right attitudes rather than degrees alone.
Mrs Ogunsola’s show was represented by the deputy vice-chancellor for Development Services, Afolabi Lesi, a professor stated, “As a university, we champion certification, but we also recognise that having a degree is not enough. If you lack the skills and competencies that back your degree, then you have nothing.”
He said pressures created by the chase for degrees fuel exam malpractice and distort the meaning of education. He also warned that the public remains largely unaware of ongoing reforms, arguing that education reporters have a duty to close the information gap.
“There is a lot of lack of knowledge about the good things happening. Your association has a big role in sensitising the public,” he told journalists, calling for stronger adoption of digital systems.
He said UNILAG’s use of CBT had exposed attempts by students to deploy technology to cheat, demonstrating the importance of investing in secure technological infrastructure.
Rebalancing an inverted pyramid learning
Earlier in his welcome remark, the chairman of EWAN and Team Lead of DevReporting, Mojeed Alabi, restated the need for structural change, recalling a decade-old conversation in which the education system was described as an “inverted pyramid.”
He said Nigeria continues to produce far more engineers than technicians, leaving critical sectors without the manpower needed to build infrastructure and support industry.
“Technical and vocational pathways remain undervalued despite being essential to economic growth. TVET is essential for industrialisation, innovation and employment. Nigeria must recognise its value and elevate it as a mainstream pathway,” he said.
Mr Alabi urged policymakers, journalists and educators to interrogate major issues such as the role of continuous assessment, the introduction of computer-based testing, infrastructure readiness, and policies promoting the use of local languages in teaching, among others.