The bill for the removal of the dichotomy between first degree and Higher National Diploma (HND) holders has stuck in the National Assembly for nearly a decade, starting from the David Mark-led 7th Assembly, through Bukola Saraki’s eight and now to Ahmad Lawan’s 9th Assembly.
This is coming despite decades-long agitations by stakeholders of polytechnic education in Nigeria and holders of Higher National Diploma advocating the removal of the dichotomy in the public service.
In the Civil Service, the entry-level for graduates with Bachelors degrees is salary Grade Level 8, while that of HND is Grade Level 7, in some instances GL 6. Initially, in some some security and paramilitary services, a bachelors degree holder is a commissioned officer, while an HND holder is placed on an inspectorate cadre. An HND graduate doesn’t go higher than GL 13 (jam bar), while a BSc graduate has no limit.
However, recently the two chambers of the National Assembly passed 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.”
Tortuous endless journey
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE takes a look at the journey of agitation and government responses.
October 2013: Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP,) commenced strike, demanding among others, removal of the dichotomy between HND holders and university degree holders and to remove the ceiling on career progression of HND holders.
May 2014: Federal Government inaugurate committee on the review of HND, BSc dichotomy. The committee was tasked with reviewing the content and curriculum of the HND programmes to be equivalent to the Bachelor of Technology, B.Tech; and introduce a bridging programme that will pave way for HND holders to reach the highest grade level in the public service.
July 4, 2014: Federal Government committee on review of the dichotomy between holders of HND, and Bsc summited report. Some of the recommendations of the committee include the need to maintain standards by not creating two different B.Tech degrees, but to synchronise the B.Tech curriculum proposed by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for polytechnics with the one approved for the universities by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
October 22, 2014: HND Discrimination Bill scales second reading in the Senate.
Jul 31, 2016: National Council on Establishment resolves on HND/Bsc dichotomy at 5-days meeting in Minna, Niger State, that: the entry point for HND holders into the civil service would henceforth be Grade Level 08, like their BSc counterparts; and approved the postgraduate diploma (PGD) as the bridge programme for holders of the Higher National Diploma (HND) to rise to the peak of their career like their BSc counterparts.
April 13, 2017: Bill to Stop HND-B.Sc. Discrimination Passes Second Reading in the House of Representatives.
March 18, 2018: Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, announced in a circular the decision of the National Council on Establishment (NCE) abolishing the dichotomy between HND, BSc holders, and solicited those concern for full implementation.
May 9, 2018: Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), through its National President, Usman Dutse, began fresh agitations for complete removal of the dichotomy between HND and BSc holders as regards academic progression.
May 14, 2019: FG abolished HND/university dichotomy in Nigeria Security and Civil Defence, Corps, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Prisons Service, and Federal Fire Service.
May 21, 2019: Reps pass a bill abolishing the HND/BSc dichotomy, after the third and final reading after it was passed for the second reading in 2017.
Jun 2, 2021: Senate read for the third time and passed a bill that seeks to end discrimination between First Degrees graduates from universities and Higher National Diploma (HND) holders from polytechnics in the country, following consideration of the report of the Senate Joint Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters; and Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, during plenary.
November 23, 2021: House of Reps passed 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.”
Ordeals of polytechnics graduates
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE spoke to graduates of polytechnics to get their experiences before their admission and after securing jobs in the civil service.
A polytechnic graduate, Mustapha Alhassan, who obtained HND from Kaduna Polytechnic, narrated his ordeal in the civil service.
“I was employed with my HND in Mass Communication, along with degree holders in the same field and placed on the same grade level. Initially, we were given the same type of assignments. However, shortly after, I saw that I was being given deeper assignments such as editing and putting publications to bed, whereas the degree holders were not,” he said.
