THE CONVERSION OF MAPOLY TO MAUTECH: A NEED TO REVISIT YABANI REPORT

Recommendations on the upliftment of polytechnic to degree awarding institution featured in so many reports submitted to federal government of Nigeria by several committees setup in the time past where its majorly agreed that products of polytechnics have out grown the "middle level" adjective use in judging the mental capacities of their graduates. However the stage of implementation is where all the report finds difficult to scale through due to high politics of superiority among universities and polytechnics regulatory bodies couple with the insincerity of purpose displayed by government officials assigned to the job.

The 1999 report submitted by the federal government committee on the review of polytechnic education headed by Adamu Yabani popularly referred to as yabani report best proffer solutions to the problem of polytechnic education in Nigeria with a clearly mapped out chart that addresses the superiority of degree and diploma regulatory bodies.  As contained in the report polytechnics should award National Diploma ND at first stage, Bachelor of Technology B.Tech at second stage and higher degrees as offers in the universities. Learning can be terminated at ND level or proceeds to B.Tech level on a stretch, as desired by students. ND graduates are to be referred to as middle level man power.

The recent conversion of Mashood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) to Mashood Abiola University of Technology (MAUTECH) calls for the need to revisit Yabani report to safe guard the educational future of students currently in the system, students holding the institution's ND certificate and as well serve as a model to the upgrade of other polytechnics in the country. The transformation of the institutions is a litmus test that will go a long way in describing the future of polytechnic education in Nigeria, the decision to keep or wipe out the awards of National Diploma in the institutions is a win or a loss to Nigeria polytechnic education.

Yabani report recommends that National Diploma should be the prerequisite into B.Tech programs in polytechnic, ND programs will be two years while B.Tech is a three year program culminating into five years academic year for students who desires to posses the B.Tech degree. With the recommendations in the report the Award of HND in polytechnic will be phase out as its no more the practice of advanced nation. Notwithstanding B.Tech and HND will be accepted to be equal for further academic pursuits in the system.

 The failure to adhere with recommendations of Yabani report in the transformation of MAPOLY to MAUTECH will be tantamount to the systematic killing of polytechnic education in Nigeria, the fate of polytechnic education hangs in the balance as so many states will follow suit if all went well with the MAPOLY conversion. The good intention of the Ogun State government will be best appreciated if carefully and diligently implemented, what is expected is an upgrade of the institution not a total conversion into a conventional university.

MAUTECH is a hope brought to realization only if the recommendations outlined for the creation of universities of technology are followed to the later beyond what we have now in the country, universities of technology are expected to be an institution for the  advancement of polytechnic education perhaps they run similar mandate but in the reality of it they still discriminate against the polytechnics though its just a name and recognition difference they offer same quality of education to students.

Nigeria is a step closer to polytechnic education reform if we get it right from the upgrade of MAPOLY to an institution where  the base as polytechnic is firmly rooted by the continuous award of National Diploma and the abolishment of dichotomy by awarding B.Tech in place of HND. With this, the dichotomy of HND and BSC will be a forgone issue yet we will still have the middle level man power graduates for relative assignment as described in the polytechnic establishment act.

Comrade Olugbode Damola Hammed
NAPS National PRO