Preamble

The Institute of Planning, Nigeria (IPN) is a foremost professional body, concerned with promoting and regulating the standard of education and training in the planning discipline, as well as the practice of the planning profession in Nigeria through a licensing regime. It examines candidates seeking to qualify as planners through a scheme of professional examinations administered by the Institute.
Candidates for the examinations come from various backgrounds and from different disciplines, to register with the Institute as approved students for the purpose of taking the professional examinations.
Since every profession is involved to a varied degree with the act and science of planning, the Institute accommodates interested students from different fields of knowledge seeking to train with the Institute as professional planners.

Philosophy
IPN is committed to a high standard of education, professional training and competence; and the maintenance of best practice professional planning standards in effective service delivery.

Entry Requirements
In certain circumstances, due to the specialized nature of this faculty, and the difficulty of developing expert skills on no broader platform than is offered by the student’s current qualification, it is normally required of students to possess a minimum of a degree or equivalent qualification in the specialized field relevant to the faculty to which registration is sought. Students are thus registered into faculties depending on their area of specialization in their current qualifications and experience.

Duration
An approved student who sits for IPN professional examinations conducted in each diet, (in June and December), may successfully complete the four parts examinations in two years, if he is diligent. However, to enable those in employment to study on part-time basis to enhance their professional qualifications, or improve their skills and competence in planning and plan implementation, the period of training may largely depend on the student’s ability. The mandatory/maximum period a student is expected to remain on the programme shall not exceed five years, subject to any extension on good cause, granted by Council.

Course Delivery
The programme demands a variety of learning methods including lectures, seminars, workshops, teamwork, presentation skills training, and practical work experience. To provide these learning resources to students, IPN accredits recognized training centres with quality education and training facilities. For this purpose, the Postgraduate School of Planning and Management, located in Benin City was promoted by IPN’s Founding President as a model. Students may wish to avail themselves of those facilities.

The design of the programme integrates a blend of theory and substantial professional training, with supervised practical real life work experience. The training combines both pre-qualification and post-qualification practical experience, as a condition for admission into membership of IPN as a Planner. The training is expected to build competence and technical capacity of the planner.

Special Skills Emphasis
Students are required to be proficient in appropriate computer software; and to possess a high degree of competence in data handling and analysis. This requirement ensures that the planner is compliant with best practice standards, and competent to cope with contemporary challenges in the modern complex global operating Information Communication Technology (ICT) environment.

Course Structure
The Institute administers all examinations including its exclusive courses and those contributed by Faculties. The course structure consists of two broad groups: 10 (ten) mandatory IPN Courses taken by all students; and 6 (Six) Faculty Courses for each approved Faculty, taken in addition to IPN courses, by students registered for that particular faculty. All 16 courses are compulsory, and must be taken by students, except where exemptions have been granted for specific subjects/courses. The courses are in four parts of four courses each. Only one part can be offered in each diet; in ascending order, except in a situation where specific course(s) within a part have to be offered to complete that part before progressing to a higher part.
Institute courses are designed to build planning skills and techniques, while faculty courses emphasize applications in areas within the respective disciplines, where there are perceived service expectation-gaps, which proper planning could help to address. Courses will continue to be monitored and up-graded for sustained relevance and the state-of-the-art.

Assessment
Assessment is based on a combination of methods including: course work, unseen examinations, supervised Professional training, project report presentation, viva voce and practical work experience.

Exemption Regime
Where reliable evidence of a student’s current qualifications, level of relevant knowledge, and cognate experience, fully satisfy the requirements of IPN in a particular course, application for exemption from that course can be entertained from such student. An application may be made for exemptions from courses only by approved registered students. Applications for exemption are considered by the Special Evaluation Committee (SEC) for Council’s approval.

Significance of Planning as a Field of Professional Practice
Much of the problems of under-development in most parts of the world have been closely associated with absence of well articulated and effective planning culture. The acute paucity of planning contents in the curricula of most disciplines of knowledge and fields of professional practice has relegated planning to negligible roles rather than the primacy of a professional discipline. The absence of planning professionals has thus been painfully noticeable, not only in Nigeria but also in less developed countries across the world.
The coming of IPN is thus a revolutionary concept in planning education and training; and the standards of best practices in every discipline. The next lift forward step in the match to global development perspective is to heighten the training and relevance of professional planners as key players in the new thrust of national and corporate strategy in development.

Candidates wishing to take IPN Professional Examinations would need to request for two forms:

1. Registration Forms for the Examinations
2. Eligibility Form

The completed forms must be submitted to IPN latest two months before the date of the examinations; accompanied by the approved examination fees.

Fees Payable
Examinations Registration fee                                                  N 10,000.
Fee per Paper/Course                                                              N 10,000.  
Maximum Number of Papers Entered for per Diet                              4
Eligibility Processing Fee                                                           N 1000.

Time Frame
The Institute’s examinations will be held in June for First Diet, and December for second Diet each year.

Examination Centres
The approved examination centres for the time being are determined by the feasible number of eligible candidates who choose each centre. Subject thereto, initially, the under-listed centres are proposed on the basis of geo-political zones:

1. Abuja
2. Benin City
3. Kaduna
4. Lagos
5. Port Harcourt

Candidates must indicate their preferred Examination Centre in the examination registration form.

Faculty Registration
Candidates are normally registered into Faculty, depending on the area of specialization of their entry 
qualifications. The courses to be taken by candidates in the examinations also depend on their faculty of registration.

Release of Results
Examination results are released three months after taking the papers. That is, September and March, following respectively, the June and December examinations in each year.

Course Structure
Candidates are advised to obtain a copy of the Institute and Faculties Course Structure to identify the courses they are required to take in their examinations; and to guide them in their studies..