NBTE Unbundles HND Computer Science; The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has officially announced the unbundling of the Higher Education Diploma course in Computer Science in response to emerging trends. Prof Idris Bugaje, the Executive Director of NBTE, conveyed this decision through a letter addressed to all heads of polytechnics and monotechnics across the country.
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The letter, titled ‘Unbundling of HND Computer Science Programme,’ and dated January 8, reveals that four new specialized courses have been introduced, stemming from the Higher National Diploma (HND) Computer Science program.
According to Bugaje, the specialized areas resulting from the unbundling are as follows:
i) HND Artificial Intelligence
ii) HND Networking and Cloud Computing
Iii) HND Software and Web Development
iv) HND Cybersecurity and Data Protection.
Students who have already enrolled in the previous Computer Science program will be phased out by the year 2025.
The letter emphasizes the need to strategically position graduates for more effective national development in light of evolving industry demands. As a result, there will be no new admissions into the HND Computer Science program starting from the 2024/2025 academic session. The grace period until 2025 is granted to enable institutions to graduate students who were admitted under the old curriculum.
Bugaje’s directive specifies that admissions into the HND Computer Science program, effective from the 2024/2025 academic session, will only be allowed in the aforementioned four specialized areas. The letter concludes with a request for the dissemination of this information to relevant parties and expresses gratitude for their cooperation.
In response to this development, an IT expert, Mr Abidemi Oderinlo, welcomed the unbundling, stating that it relieves students of the burden of being a ‘Jack of all trades’ and contributes to a reduction in course load, ultimately improving overall output. However, Solomon Nwadike, a tech consultant based in Lagos, expressed disagreement with the move, highlighting potential concerns or criticisms that may arise from the unbundling decision.
