The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has warned professional and examination bodies against the unauthorised conduct and issuance of National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) certificates in the country.

A statement issued yesterday in Kaduna by the Executive Secretary of NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, through the Head of Media and Publicity, Mrs. Fatima Abubakar, condemned the activities of groups allegedly designing, conducting and awarding such certificates without legal backing.

Bugaje, in the circular, said the actions of those bodies violate the Act establishing NBTE, stressing that the board remains the sole authority empowered by law — under Decree No. 9 of 1977 as amended by Act 16 of 1985 — to regulate, accredit and approve all programmes leading to ND and HND awards in Nigeria.

The board clarified that only accredited Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions — including polytechnics, Colleges of Nursing Sciences, Colleges of Health, Colleges of Agriculture and other specialised bodies that meet the required standards — are authorised to run ND and HND programmes.

NBTE warned that regulatory and legal measures would be taken against any professional or examination body caught in the illegal practice.

The board urged stakeholders and the public to comply strictly with regulations guiding technical education, insisting it would sustain the clampdown on mushroom institutions parading themselves as polytechnics and undermining government’s efforts to ensure quality education nationwide.