By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Federal Government has directed polytechnics across the country to gradually phase out academic programmes that fall outside their core technical mandate, as part of efforts to reposition technical education towards applied sciences, engineering, technology and innovation.
The directive was given by the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, during the inauguration of the Governing Board of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) on Thursday, 6 August, 2026, where he stressed that polytechnics must place greater emphasis on practical, industry-relevant skills.
According to the National Orientation Agency (NOA), which broke down the policy in a public explainer, the government believes Nigeria’s education system has become too focused on certificates and not enough on employable skills, arguing that the country needs more people who can build, operate, repair, automate and produce things, rather than merely holding certificates.
The agency clarified that the announcement does not provide a definitive list of individual programmes banned or immediately cancelled, explaining that the government’s position is for polytechnics to gradually phase out non-technical programmes that fall outside their statutory mandate, a development that leaves the status of courses such as Business Administration, Accounting and Mass Communication yet to be explicitly addressed.
The NOA explained that the government is not saying institutions should stop teaching non-technical courses entirely, but rather that technical education itself must change in structure and focus.
Alausa specifically called for curricula to incorporate artificial intelligence, automation, digital technologies, green technologies, advanced manufacturing and Industry 4.0 competencies, while also directing polytechnics to adopt Outcome-Based Education, which places greater emphasis on what students can practically do with the knowledge they acquire.
The NOA identified potential benefits of the policy for Nigerian students to include better employability, a stronger connection between education and industry, increased emphasis on emerging technologies, and stronger technical education overall.
