Graduates with Higher National Diploma (HND) certificates have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to give his assent to the bill seeking to abolish the dichotomy between Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) and Higher National Diploma (HND) holders in the country.
They noted that the president’s assent would ensure the growth of polytechnic education in Nigeria.The dichotomy between B.Sc and HND holders in the country especially when it comes to employment has been in national discourse for a long time.
The House of Representatives had last Tuesday passed the bill seeking a perpetual end to the dichotomy. The legislation was titled “A Bill for an Act to Abolish and Prohibit Dichotomy and Discrimination between First Degree and Higher National Diploma in the Same Profession/Field for the Purpose of Employment; and for Related Matters.”
The bill stipulates some punitive measures against any form of discrimination against holders of HND. Addressing journalists in Abuja, yesterday, the Coordinator of the Coalition of HND stakeholders, Sebastian Onyemaobi, recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had in September 2007 directed that the dichotomy and ceiling on salary grade level attainable by HND holders should be removed.
He, however, noted that despite previous laws and policies, discrimination against HND holders persists because there were no sanctions for non-compliance.
According to him, the current piece of legislation would address the problem, which he noted, was one of the key setbacks to technological growth and the nation’s quest for industrialisation.
Onyemaobi argued that the bill would also bring an end to the outdated class-concept and certificate-based approach being practiced in Nigeria, including introducing the globally accepted performance based approach to work place administration.
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