NBTE defends outsourcing of physical accreditation amid ASUP concerns

Oladipupo Olamiposi
@olamiposioladipupo247606
23 days ago

The National Board for Technical Education has responded to concerns raised by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics regarding the proposed outsourcing of quality assurance activities.

President of the Union, Shammah Kpanja, had earlier rejected the plan, describing it as an attempt to commercialise polytechnic regulation and undermine the integrity of the accreditation process.

Responding to the rejection in a statement by its Head of Media Unit, Fatima Abubakar, the Board clarified that the outsourcing will be limited to physical accreditation exercises and only for institutions lacking the necessary ICT infrastructure to access its digital accreditation platform.

Abubakar emphasised that the digital platform remains the primary method for accreditation and quality assurance processes, fully under the Board’s control.

She explained that the outsourcing model applies only to institutions that are unable to log into our existing digital platform stating that it is structured to maintain transparency, prevent conflicts of interest, and uphold the integrity of the accreditation process.

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