Dr Tunji Alausa, Nigeria’s Minister of Education, has approved a one-year moratorium on new applications for polytechnics and monotechnics, with immediate effect.
However, health institutions have been exempted from this ban due to challenges with low enrolment rates.
The announcement was made in a statement by Prof. Idris Bugaje, the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), on Thursday, February 13, in Kaduna.
The moratorium will pause any new applications for the establishment of polytechnics and monotechnics for 12 months, allowing for a review of the existing institutions.
For institutions currently under assessment, they will need to pay specific fees to continue the registration process. Polytechnics awaiting ministerial approval will be required to pay an application fee of N4 million and a processing fee of N2 million per programme of study.
Meanwhile, monotechnics must pay an application fee of N2 million and a processing fee of N1 million per programme. Applicants will have 30 days to make these payments, after which their registration process will be terminated if the fees are not paid.
Health institutions, which are excluded from the moratorium, will follow the same fee structure as monotechnics for registration.
Prof. Bugaje stated that the goal of this moratorium is to ensure that Nigeria’s tertiary Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions are properly populated within their approved capacities, ensuring that institutions do not become overcrowded or operate below capacity.
