NBTE goes digital, discards analogue accreditation, quality assurance activities

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) says effective from August 2024, there will be no more physical accreditation or other quality assurance activities in the institutions under its purview.

The board disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday by the Head of Media Unit, Fatima Abubakar.

Abubakar said the board had fully transitioned to a digital platform for all quality assurance processes, aligning with the Federal Government’s digital-driven policies.

She added that this was also in line with the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

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According to her, the digitalisation policy has recorded success, with a substantial increase in institutions and stakeholders engaging with the digital system, now totaling 489.

She said the board had also completed digital assessments and documentation processes for 17 institutions across the six geo-political zones, with approvals granted accordingly.

“Digital monitoring has been introduced to ensure strict compliance with established standards.

“The NBTE’s digitalisation drive, led by the Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje, aims to deliver more efficient, effective, and transparent quality assurance processes, ensuring cost-effectiveness and integrity,” she said.

Abubakar added that the board had also unveiled a technology-driven quality assurance process for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.

According to her, this approach leverages technology in all quality assurance activities, reduces personnel deployment, and minimizes physical contact.

“This transition has led to a significant increase in digital activities on the platform and has been largely successful.

“Some of the successes recorded so far by the digitalisation policy of the Board include increased engagement, completion of digital assessment and digital monitoring, ”she said.

She encouraged all Polytechnics, other technical institutions, and relevant stakeholders under its regulatory purview to embrace these technology-driven digitalization processes.

Abubakar said this would lead to a more efficient, effective, and transparent quality assurance exercise that ensures cost-effectiveness and integrity.