Stakeholders in Nigeria’s polytechnic education sector have decried what they described as persistent discriminatory admission policies and systemic neglect of polytechnics.
For the 2026 admissions, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board sets the minimum baseline for university admissions at 150, while polytechnics and colleges of education are pegged lower, at 100.
They warned that the trend is discouraging enrolment, depriving the country of critical technical manpower and undermining efforts to drive industrial development.
The concerns were raised at the maiden International Conference of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti Chapter, held virtually.
The event brought together academics, administrators, union leaders, alumni and industry stakeholders.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the conference and signed by the Chairman of the Conference Organising Committee, Dr Peter Ajewole, and the Secretary, Dr Ige Ayeni, participants lamented that disparities in admission cut-off marks between universities and polytechnics continued to fuel a talent drain from institutions specifically designed to meet Nigeria’s technical and industrial manpower needs.
They noted that negative perceptions and discriminatory practices against polytechnic education have contributed significantly to declining enrolment across the sector.
“The disparities in admission cut-off mark for universities and polytechnics based on discrimination continue to contribute to talent drain from the institutions which are most suited to serve the needs of Nigeria’s industrial development,” the communiqué stated.
The conference further observed that the perception of polytechnic education as inferior to university education remained one of the greatest barriers to attracting academically talented students.
“The perception of polytechnic education as an institution of lesser quality than the university remains a barrier to high-performing students and represents a systemic disadvantage, even in the face of the equivalent, if not superior, rigour and applicability of the polytechnic curriculum,” the stakeholders said.
To reverse the trend, the conference urged the Federal Government to implement a uniform merit-based admission policy across all tertiary institutions.
Among its recommendations, the conference called on government to “adopt consistent merit-based admission cut-off requirements between all tertiary institutions, while removing the unfair disadvantage that polytechnics face in the process.”
The stakeholders argued that technical and vocational education institutions play a critical role in producing skilled manpower required for national development and should not be treated as second-choice alternatives to universities.
The stakeholders noted that despite Nigeria’s low tertiary education gross enrolment ratio of 13.5 per cent, enrolment in polytechnics had dropped to below five per cent of youths seeking admission into tertiary institutions.
They warned that such a trend poses a threat to national development, particularly at a time when the country is seeking to expand its industrial base and strengthen technical skills acquisition.
Beyond admission policies, the conference identified a range of structural challenges confronting polytechnic education in Nigeria, including inadequate funding, outdated regulatory frameworks, weak industry collaboration, poor digital infrastructure, insufficient research commercialisation and continued exclusion from major national development programmes.
The conference also raised concerns over the newly established National Research and Innovation Development Fund, describing its current governance structure as exclusionary.
While commending the Federal Executive Council for approving the initiative on May 9, 2026, participants noted that the framework failed to specifically recognise polytechnics despite their role in applied research and technical innovation.
The conference described the proposed fund, which could provide annual funding of up to $500m, as the most significant intervention in Nigeria’s research and development ecosystem since independence.
However, participants warned that excluding polytechnics from the scheme would reinforce long-standing inequalities within the tertiary education system.
“The NRIDF governance structure presently does not mention polytechnics, but it does mention the Committee of Vice-Chancellors. This exclusion of polytechnics in major national frameworks is a structural risk which must be corrected through legislation before the enabling Act is finalised,” the communiqué stated.
The conference therefore called for the explicit inclusion of polytechnics as eligible beneficiaries of the fund, along with the creation of a dedicated funding stream based on the number of institutions and Nigeria’s technical manpower requirements.
Participants further urged government to increase investment in polytechnic education in line with UNESCO’s recommended education funding benchmark of between 15 and 20 per cent of national budgets.
They stressed the need for sustained investment in laboratories, workshops, digital infrastructure, research facilities and staff development programmes.
The conference observed that many polytechnic campuses remained poorly equipped for digital transformation, with inadequate internet connectivity, weak e-learning systems and limited access to modern information and communication technologies.
It also noted that many academic staff lacked proficiency in industry-standard digital tools, including artificial intelligence-assisted teaching systems, automated grading platforms and digital project management applications.
To address these challenges, the stakeholders called on institutional leadership across the polytechnic sector to invest in digital literacy programmes, modern ICT infrastructure and AI-integrated teaching and administrative systems.
The conference also highlighted the growing importance of partnerships between polytechnics and industry, arguing that many research outputs generated by academic staff remained confined to institutional repositories rather than being transformed into commercial products or industrial solutions.
It pointed to the growing opportunities in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, digital economy and manufacturing industry, urging polytechnics to position themselves as key players in applied research and innovation.
According to the stakeholders, the country’s ongoing digital transformation, the Federal Government’s Three Million Technical Talent programme and emerging international partnerships offer significant opportunities for polytechnics to expand their relevance and impact.
The Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Dr Temitope Alake, had in his opening remarks challenged polytechnics to align their activities with the Sustainable Development Goals and embrace innovation-driven education.
Alake said institutions must move beyond traditional theory-based learning and adopt competency-based approaches capable of producing graduates equipped for contemporary industry demands.
He highlighted the institution’s research achievements, including patent-certified innovations and competitive research grants, as evidence of the sector’s potential.
Similarly, the President of the Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti Alumni Association, Badru Rafiu, identified discriminatory admission policies, inadequate funding, outdated curricula, weak industry collaboration, poor digital infrastructure and negative public perception as some of the major obstacles limiting the growth of polytechnic education in Nigeria.
Rafiu advocated stronger support for applied research, improved laboratory facilities, competitive research grants, interdisciplinary collaboration and greater recognition of innovation-driven achievements.
The conference concluded that Nigerian polytechnics possess the intellectual resources, research capacity and professional expertise necessary to drive national industrialisation and economic transformation.
According to the communiqué, the challenge facing the sector is not a lack of capability but the absence of supportive policies, adequate funding and effective legislative backing.
“The quality and breadth of research presented across all eight schools affirm that The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti has both the will and the capability to be a leading institution of applied innovation in Nigeria,” the communiqué stated.
“The challenge is systemic, not intellectual.”
The stakeholders warned that the window for meaningful reform was narrowing and urged all relevant actors—including government, lawmakers, regulators, industry leaders, alumni and academic staff—to take urgent action.
“This communiqué is not a ceremonial document. It is a call to action,” the conference declared.
“Every institution, every academic, every alumni member, and every government stakeholder referenced herein has a defined and urgent role to play. The future of polytechnic education in Nigeria is being written now.”
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