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HND/BSC dichotomy bill: Stakeholders emphasise skill over certificate

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Agency Report
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HND and Bsc

Some stakeholders on Thursday reacted to the bill for removal of dichotomy between Higher National Diploma, HND, and Bachelor of Science, BSc, holders and suggested that emphasis should be on skills and not certification.

They stated this in Ibadan in separate reactions as the Senate on Wednesday passed the bill scrapping HND and BSC dichotomy.

Alhaji Soladoye Adewole, Public Relations Officer, The Polytechnic Ibadan, said ab initio, the dichotomy should not have been but the government in its wisdom brought it in.

He said the educational system in use was borrowed from England but England had changed its educational system when discrimination set in between its Polytechnic and University graduates.

Adewole also noted that China did the same thing when discrimination set in as a fresh university degree holder became the boss of a polytechnic graduate working for about 20 years in the nearest future.

“I commend those behind this move but I also want to advise that polytechnic graduates should not rest on their oars.

“They should strive to get the necessary additional certificates to make themselves relevant in whatever field they are.

“Add value to yourself and upgrade yourself on your job as development is a continuum.

“The whole thing now lies with the president to assent to the bill because then, nobody will be able to contravene the law and go free,” Adewole said.

Another respondent, Dr Oludayo Tade, a Sociologist at the University of Ibadan, said the bill would not necessarily solve the challenges of underdevelopment and lack of skill gap in the workplace in Nigeria.

He noted that converting polytechnic into university would not solve the problem facing the country but that each tertiary institution must deliver on its mandate for its establishment.

Tade noted that issues such as functionality and capabilities of the various institutions and their faculties needed to be brought to bear in improving the quality of education and the removal of dichotomy.

“If the government can regulate the dichotomy in its establishments first, then every other sector of the economy can then do the same.

“There are various government agencies and parastatals with different degrees of emoluments paid to workers and so harmonisation of salary scales is needed if dichotomy is to be addressed.

“There are other bills such as the one which stated the percentage of the physically challenged people that should be employed but is it being followed?

“So, the issue is not passage of the bill but critically looking at how to bridge the skill gaps and provide equality for workers to earn their pay.

“Most employers now pay you for what you can do. That is the value you brought to bear in the workplace and not your certificate,” Tade said.

Mr Tunji Adepeju, an employer of labour, said the dichotomy had been an issue for a long time now as a Bachelor’s degree holder had an edge over a HND holder.

“The Higher National Diploma (HND) is for someone who goes to the polytechnic, College of Technology or any other specialised division and is trained to be practical.

“Whereas, the BSc holders are more academic or theoretical.

“In the UK, I am aware that the people with probably what I can call the HND are rated and enumerated better or higher there  because what we need now is technological development and not talking about theory.”

According to him, this is not the first time the government has been issuing circulars upon circulars on it but it was not implemented.

“Now that it is coming by the way of the law, it will encourage more people to attend polytechnic and colleges of technology because many students who filled their JAMB forms picked universities because of the dichotomy.

“For two to three years, some students roam the streets because of their desire to go to the universities and not polytechnic.

“That will change if they now know that either way, they can get to the highest level in the public service,” Adepeju said.

Source: NAN

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