By Abaire Olanlesi
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has vehemently opposed the National Board for Technical Education’s (NBTE) plan to outsource accreditation and quality assurance functions, warning that it could compromise standards and commercialize regulation.
ASUP President, Shammah Kpanja, in a statement on Saturday, criticized the policy, arguing that privatizing such a critical function would create conflicts of interest and weaken oversight in Nigeria’s technical education sector.
NBTE, citing staff shortages and the challenge of overseeing 789 institutions, proposed outsourcing accreditation duties to private vendors with the Minister of Education’s approval.
However, ASUP insists this move endangers institutional credibility and exposes sensitive data.
The union is demanding a policy reversal and the creation of a National Commission for Polytechnics to ensure regulatory independence.
It also supports digitizing quality assurance instead of privatization, reaffirming its stance after a stakeholders’ meeting on March 4, 2025.
