The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) recently launched Topup Programmes for Higher National Diploma (HND) students in Nigeria to convert their certificates to Bachelor of Science, Tech, or Art (BSc, B.A, B.Tech) costs $1050usd, The PIJAlance, authoritatively reports.
The costs have been evaluated at both of the official and parallel market exchange rates. At the official exchange rate of the dollar to the naira which is N799/$1, an HND student planning to enroll for a conversion through the NBTE Topup Programmes will be spending a sum of N838,950—a cost that is higher than the average amount of Nigeria’s cost of living to feed a family of four without rent fees. Yet, there may be other costs.
According to Numbeo.com, a website that measures the cost of living for countries of the world, a family of four will spend “1,419.4$ (1,095,563.1₦) without rent, monthly. While a single person estimated monthly costs are 398.1$ (307,265.0₦) without rent in Nigeria.”
Based on this, NBTE Topup Programmes are planning to gulp as much as the costs of living of a single person without a rent fee and take a larger chunk too from the costs of living of a family of four. In other words, it is planning to retain an entire life.
At the parallel market, the dollar is exchanged at the rate of N960/$1. Based on this, the PIJAlance calculated the costs of the NBTE Topup Programmes and found that $1050 is equivalent to a sum of N1.8m.
While it is really difficult to find the dollar at the official rate, any HND students planning to apply for the NBTE Topup Programmes must keep a sum of N1.8m. This sum is just a one per cent different from the costs of living estimated for a family four without rent fees. Adding rent fees may be estimated above N1.8m, monthly.
Read Also: After PIJAlance Story, N1.8m NBTE Top up Program Cost Drops by %40
The NBTE recently unveiled online top-up programme for HND holders to convert their certification to Bachelor’s Degree through online top-up for one year, with foreign accredited universities, was meant to be a succour and solution-driven, solving the long surviving dichotomies between BSc and HND holders.
The board which disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Monday by its Head of Media Unit, Mrs Fatima Abubakar, may not foreseen this, but the Topup Programmes are not for the men-on-the-streets, says an HND holder, Adeolu who applied recently.
Adeolu applied yesterday and was automatically processed to one foreign university in Rajasthan, Mewar University to have Bachelor in Business Management.
Mewar University said Adeolu will be paying a sum of $1000usd for total program fees while $50usd will be for an form fee.
“Instead of doing this I will rather travel to do top up,” Adeolu said. “How much is Japa?” Adeolu’s friend who also applied asked mockingly to insinuate why he will have to pay N1.8m for a Topup Programme when he can use that to travel abroad (Japa).
Read Also: Five years Graceland Polytechnic Runs NBTE Unaccredited Programmes, Graduates Have No Certificates
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