HND-BSC DICHOTOMY: ATTEMPTING TO BALANCE A DISCRIMINATORY POLICY
The announcement that the dichotomy between Higher National Diploma (HND) and Bachelors Degree is about to be repealed elicited muffled jubilation among those who endured the discrimination over the years.
The Senate had recently passed a bill prohibiting employers in the country from discriminating between first-degree and HND holders. Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, said the passage of the bill would serve as a motivation to HND holders from polytechnics.
The passage of the bill followed the consideration of a report by the Joint Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters as well as Tertiary Institutions and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).
Chairman of the Joint Committee, Ibrahim Shekarau, said the development would freeholders of HND from stagnation and ensure balanced treatment with their counterparts from other higher tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
He added that the scrapping of the dichotomy would meet the huge manpower needs of Nigerians, ensure social justice, and enhanced corporate governance, as well as encourage patriotic contributions among HND employees in both public and private sectors.
The practice in the civil service was that while entry-level graduate with Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) start on salary grade level 8, the HND counterpart had to go a level lower; in security service, a B.Sc holder would be a commissioned officer, while an HND holder would remain a step lower; an HND graduate was not expected to go higher than GL 13 (jam bar), while a B.Sc the graduate has no limit.
In July 2016, the Federal Government had expressed its
intention to end the dichotomy between HND and B.Sc holders – when the Minister
of Education, Adamu Adamu spoke at the 32nd combined convocation and diamond
jubilee celebration of Kaduna Polytechnic.
