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The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has expressed dissatisfaction over the exclusion of Polytechnic students from the 2024 National Undergraduate Scholarship Programme announced by NNPCL/SEPLAT joint ventures.
This is contained in a letter dated Dec.16, written to the Group Managing Director of NNPCL and obtained in Abuja on Wednesday.
The letter, titled ‘RE: NNPC/SEPLAT JU NATIONAL UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP’, was signed by the Executive Secretary of NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje.
The letter reads:” Please my attention has been drawn by the SERVICOM Department on the exclusion of Polytechnic students from the 2004 National Undergraduate Scholarship Programme announced by the NNPC/SEPLAT Joint Ventures.
” The programme’s eligibility criteria, as stated in the advert are limited to deserving undergraduate students of federal and state universities in Nigeria.
“This exclusion is not only discriminatory but also unfair to the Polytechnic students who are equally deserving of the scholarship opportunities,” he said.
Bugaje explained that Polytechnics were empowered by law to produce high level manpower for the development of the country and especially for the Oil and Gas sector.
He added that in line with global best practices the NBTE and Polytechnic had commenced the institutionalisation of the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) in the country, aimed at addressing skills gap.
He further said that excluding these categories of students from the scholarship opportunities undermined their potential and contributions to the development of the country.
He urged the NNPCL to reconsider the eligibility criteria and include Polytechnic students in the scholarship programme.
This he said would not only promote fairness and equity but also recognise the value and importance of Polytechnic education in Nigeria.
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