By FUNMILAYO ADEYEMI

The Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, has berated the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for opposing ongoing efforts to upgrade polytechnics to degree-awarding institutions.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja, Bugaje asserted that polytechnics operate independently and should not be seen as subordinates to universities.

Reacting to the reported resistance from ASUU over the proposal to introduce Bachelor of Technology Honours (B.Tech Hons) degrees in polytechnics, Bugaje dismissed the notion that the move would encroach on university territory.

?I know ASUU belongs to the ivory tower. We are not trying to mimic or copy what they have in the university system.

?Our own degree is different. It is going to be a degree based on three things: character, learning, and skills,? he said.

Bugaje emphasised that polytechnics and universities were parallel systems designed to serve different, but complementary roles in national development.

?Polytechnics are not feeders to the university system. We complement the universities. We run on a parallel path,? he stated.

He called on ASUU to focus on the challenges within the university system and allow the polytechnic sector to reform and evolve to meet Nigeria?s industrial needs.

Highlighting the country?s dependence on foreign skilled labour, Bugaje cited the example of the Dangote Refinery in Lekki, where over 11,000 skilled Indian workers were reportedly brought in for the construction.

He attributed this to Nigeria?s failure to prioritise skill-based education and industrial training.

?We have all the universities, polytechnics, but because we have not focused on skills training, we ended up outsourcing the work, with all the capital flight that comes with it,? he said.

Bugaje also cited the rail infrastructure projects in Nigeria, including the Abuja-Kaduna railway, where he claimed, foreign workers, some reportedly sourced from prisons in their home countries were engaged, due to their technical training.

?This is a wake-up call, Nigeria?s industrialisation shall remain a mirage until we fix the polytechnic sector because that?s where the skills are,? he stressed.

Bugaje appealed for cooperation and mutual respect between the university and polytechnic sectors.

?We are not trying to compete. We support each other. I appeal to all of you, especially ASUU, to please face your sector and leave us alone,? he said. (NAN)