The Yaba College of Technology has emerged as a strategic national platform following  COREN’s landmark Outcome-Based Education accreditation of its HND Mechanical and Electrical/Electronics Engineering Technology programmes. This was announced in a statement on Tuesday.

The accreditation, it said, aligned with Nigeria’s polytechnic engineering technology education with global benchmarks set by the Sydney and Dublin Accords of the International Engineering Alliance, thereby strengthening international recognition, graduate mobility, and professional relevance.

It noted that COREN’s team lead, Abdulkarim Nasir, said that the outcome-based education integrated curriculum, teaching, assessment, facilities, and industry engagement to deliver graduates equipped with measurable competencies for professional engineering practice.

“OBE ensures ND and HND graduates are practically prepared for global engineering practice, meeting internationally defined learning outcomes and operational competencies required of engineering technologists and technicians,” stated Mr Nasir.

Mr Nasir said Nigeria’s 2023 admission into the Washington Accord for engineering degrees, noting that COREN was expanding similar recognition to engineering technology and technician programmes through the Sydney and Dublin Accords.

He described the visitation as a peer-review exercise, not fault-finding, explaining that experienced academics and industry professionals objectively evaluated programmes, identified strengths, and recommended improvements aligned with international best practices.

It noted that the assessment included inspections of laboratories, workshops, libraries, and health and sports facilities; reviews of academic records, staff qualifications, and student coursework; and interactions with academic staff, technical officers, and students.

Similarly, it stated that the panel commended YABATECH for pioneering OBE-based accreditation among polytechnics, citing adequate facilities, qualified manpower, strong industry feedback, a reliable power supply, and impressive student academic performance.

The COREN team warned that running unaccredited or expired engineering technology programmes violated statutory provisions, stressing that graduates from such programmes remained ineligible for professional registration, irrespective of future accreditation outcomes.

Responding, the YABATECH rector, Ibraheem Abdul, described the exercise as nationally significant, saying, “We are committed to OBE compliance, staff capacity building, and facilities upgrades to enhance graduate employability and global competitiveness.”

(NAN)