By Aminu Garko
The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has granted accreditation to 37 programmes run by the Federal Polytechnic Bida in Niger.The board also approved additional streams for 13 out of the 37 accredited programmes.
This is contained in a statement issued by Abdulkadir Yahaya, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Rector on Media and Communications in Minna on Wednesday.Yahaya said that the accreditation would last for a period of five years after which it would be rescheduled for reaccreditation.Reacting, Rector of the polytechnic, Dr Abubakar Dzukogi, expressed delight over the outcome of the accreditation exercise and pledged to improve the quality of programmes run by the polytechnic.
Dzukogi said in spite of the paucity of funds, the management was able to mobilise resources to ensure that the required equipment were procured for all programmes scheduled for re-accreditation and accreditation.He described the development as a landmark achievement, saying,”for the very first time in recent history, the polytechnic was granted accreditation in all the programmes it presented.”
The rector lauded the NBTE Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje and his staff for their support and cooperation during the exercise.Speaking earlier, the leader of the NBTE’s accreditation team, Dr Rufai Ibrahim said: “The exercise was a quality assurance one where experts from various fields were assembled to assess the standard of teaching and learning facilities available in the institution.”For his part, the Polytechnic’s Director of Academic Planning, Dr. Femi Paul attributed the success of the accreditation exercise to the proper planning and commitment put in place by the management.He said that the rector approved the release of over N100 million for direct procurement of equipment and other necessary items to ensure a hitch-free exercise.Paul expressed optimism that the accreditation of programmes would strengthen the institution’s academic standards and position it for better performances in the comity of tertiary institutions in the country.The accredited programmes are: ND Computer Engineering Technology, ND and HND Chemical Engineering Technology, ND and HND Electrical Engineering (Electronic and Telecom as well as Power and Machines options).Others include HND Agric and Bio-Environmental Engineering Technology, among others.( NAN)
