NBTE defends accreditation outsourcing amid ASUP objections

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has defended its decision to outsource aspects of its accreditation process, following strong opposition from the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).

In a statement issued on Sunday, NBTE’s Head of Media Unit, Fatima Abubakar, clarified that the outsourcing would be limited to physical accreditation exercises and only for institutions lacking the ICT infrastructure needed to access the board’s digital accreditation platform.

ASUP President, Shammah Kpanja, had earlier criticised the plan, calling it an attempt to commercialise polytechnic regulation and compromise the integrity of the accreditation process.

However, NBTE insisted that the digital accreditation platform remained the primary tool for quality assurance and that the board would retain full control over accreditation procedures.

“The outsourcing model applies only to institutions that cannot log into our existing digital platform. It is structured to maintain transparency, prevent conflicts of interest, and uphold the integrity of the accreditation process,” the board stated.

NBTE further explained that the move was necessary to cope with the growing number of institutions under its oversight—now exceeding 800—while it has fewer than 100 programme officers to conduct accreditation exercises.

The board also revealed that the initiative had received approval from the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, and was designed to enhance efficiency, leverage external expertise, and align with global best practices.

To address concerns, NBTE said it had already held discussions with rectors and union leaders and remained open to further engagement with ASUP and other stakeholders to refine the implementation of the outsourcing model.

“We look forward to continued engagement with ASUP, other staff unions, and all key stakeholders to strengthen the regulatory framework of TVET institutions and ensure sustainable quality assurance mechanisms,” the statement added.