NABPTEX raises concern over issue of HND by polytechnics

15-01-08
Front page

INSTEAD of strengthening the diplomas awarded by the country’s polytechnics, the recent passage of the Polytechnic Act (Act 745, 2007) appears to have brought to the fore the problems likely to be created by the act.
With the passage of the act, it is unclear whether the polytechnics are going to award their own Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) or the National Board for Professional and Technical Examinations (NABPTEX) would continue to award them.
Section (5a) of the Polytechnic Act says that “a Polytechnic may award HNDs accredited by the National Accreditation Board (NAB)”. This is in spite of the fact that NABPTEX, which regulates the conduct of polytechnic examination in the country, still awards the HND.
The Executive Secretary of NABPTEX, Mr Ben Antwi-Boasiako, described the section of the Polytechnic Act that said that polytechnics “may” award HNDs as dangerous.
The Rector of the Accra Polytechnic, Professor Ralph Asabre, told the Daily Graphic that the HND was a national programme which should be awarded by a national body.
“Since it is a national programme, it is supposed to be awarded by a national body,” he said, and stated that individual polytechnics could not award it.
“I think there was a mistake somewhere,” he said.
With the coming into force of the Polytechnic Act, the country would have 11 different Higher “National” Diplomas, as each of the 10 polytechnics would award its own HND, in addition to the HND awarded by NABPTEX, a situation that Mr Antwi-Boasiako believed could lead to standards being compromised.
Subsection 2 (2b) of the NABPTEX Act (Act 492, 1994) says that the board shall, “in consultation with the relevant polytechnics and professional institutions, conduct examination and award national certificates and diplomas based on the result of the examinations”.
“We are not against the polytechnics awarding their own degrees, diplomas and certificates; what we are against is the polytechnics awarding the HND,” he explained, and said the word “national” in the HND meant that there should be a national body like NABPTEX awarding the HND.
He said the board made several attempts to correct the provision on the award of Higher “National” Diploma by polytechnics in the bill before its passage but said having being passed without that correction, it meant that “we will have Accra Polytechnic HND, Takoradi Polytechnic HND, Kumasi Polytechnic HND and so on”.
Mr Antwi-Boasiako indicated that NABPTEX had attained international recognition for the HND through its primary membership with the International Association for Educational Assessment, a body recognised by UNESCO and which has collaborated with industry and other stakeholders in the country for the recognition of the HND.
“We have been able to put the HND on a higher pedestal. If we ask polytechnics to issue different HNDs, there will be a problem,” he said, adding that with the different HNDs there would be different standards.
According to him, the board, through its quality assurance measures, such as moderating questions, monitoring examinations, as well as verifying marked scripts, ensured that standards were uniform among polytechnics.
Mr Antwi-Boasiako said the board was in no way an impediment to the development of the polytechnics but rather facilitated polytechnic education, saying, for example, that it conducted test item writing workshops for all the polytechnics to ensure that the lecturers set questions that were of higher standards befitting the status of polytechnic education.
He emphasised that as a result of the high turnover of polytechnic lecturers, the board had to keep on holding the test item writing workshops to keep new lecturers abreast of the appropriate standards.
“NABPTEX is not an impediment to the development of the polytechnics. Their problem is poor conditions of service, lack of equipment and facilities,” he indicated, and urged the polytechnics to strive to improve the conditions of service of their staff and facilities.
Mr Antwi-Boasiako said NABPTEX was set up to administer schemes of examination not only for polytechnics but also the professional bodies and all non-university tertiary institutions, including private ones, adding that it would continue with its mandate.