The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has approved a one-year moratorium on new applications for polytechnics and monotechnics across Nigeria. The move, which takes effect immediately, halts all new applications for the establishment of these institutions for a 12-month period.
However, in a notable exception, health institutions have been exempted from the ban due to ongoing challenges with low student enrollment in the sector.
The announcement was made public by the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Idris Bugaje, in a statement issued Thursday in Kaduna. Prof. Bugaje explained that institutions currently under assessment for approval will still be required to pay specific fees to continue their registration process.
Polytechnics seeking approval will now be required to pay an application fee of N4 million, along with a processing fee of N2 million per program. Monotechnics, meanwhile, will pay an application fee of N2 million and a processing fee of N1 million for each program. All applicants must make these payments within 30 days, or their registration process will be terminated.
Health institutions that remain unaffected by the moratorium will follow the same fee structure as monotechnics for registration purposes.
The primary goal of this new directive, according to the NBTE, is to ensure that existing polytechnics and monotechnics operate within their approved capacities, addressing overcrowding and the efficient use of resources.
