Because I do not attend university I was denied from marry a lardy. British brought HND and they Honor it. American had TECHNOLOGIST and the courses in technology they also honour it. Nigerian bought both the American system and that of British, those of us who are fools fell into it and we are regretting the polytechnic education. American had polytechnic university while Nigerians own is colledge of Technology.
CLOSE DOWN THE POLYTECHNICS NIGERIAN DO NOT WANT IT.

HND/BSc discrimination is too painful. Many universitie don't even consider ND or HND holders for direct entry in part 2 or 3 as the case may be. Since they believed BSc is higher, why not allow those ones that are interested in having BSc into the university through direct entry provided they meet the o'level requirement.

I advise employer of labour to employ HND and BSc holders and over years rate their performance and see if there is any significant difference in their performance.

If the country can just try to equate these 2 qualifications by ammending their policy. I tell you in the next 5 years Nigeria will be 250% better than the present Nigeria. i don't ask me why. Just try and see result.

After all Yaba College of Technology requires the same minimum requirement to read most of the courses as unilag. e.g statistics, accounting etc.

Thank God ooo
HND graduates can now rise above Level 14 as President Olusegun Obasanjo approved a new policy which reversed the existing policy that restricts holders of the Higher National Diploma (HND) from rising above Level 14 in the civil service.


The new policy brings to an end the bitter dichotomy that has pitched HND graduates against their more favoured graduates from the universities and made the HND subjects of discriminations in promotion and job prospects.

President Obasanjo, at a meeting with members of the House of Representatives Committeee on Education and Minister of Education, Mrs. Chinwe Obaji, directed his Chief of Staff (Maj Gen Mohammed Abdullahi) and Head of Service (Alhaji Yayale Ahmed) to immediately prepare a position paper reflecting the new position so that the Executive can put it into effect.


Chairman of the House Committee, Alhaji Ahmad Lawan later told journalists after the meeting that Obasanjo accepted to end the discrimination of HND holders because he was convinced that they could also be more useful to the nation without the Level 14 restriction placed on them.


According to him, "so many HND holders have contributed or are contributing very meaningfully to the development of Nigeria but the discrimination that is put on them that if you reach Level 14, you cannot go any further than that, places some kind of disadvantage not only the holders but on the country as well. Because these people ordinarily should have much more contributed to our development and we feel that the federal government should review this policy and the President accepted. In fact, he said that a position will be presented and he asked the Chief of Staff to look into that issue and to handle the documents that are needed in conjunction with the Head of Service."

It's a shame! A big one at that. Nigerians like anything that would put them on a status higher than others. At this age and time, should we be talking about one degree higher than the other or what the holder of the degree or diploma can perform? In the present day how many nigerians really deserve to called degree holders? How many really studied hard? It's like comparing a Nigerian Army general and an Army general from Europe or even India. Look at the written English of most graduates and you would weep. Lecturers are now contractors. Students only give contracts to lecturers to see them through. Students don't write their final year projects anymore! They only copy already existing ones! Most of our graduates are HALF-BAKED (degree and HND holders alike). We should assess ourselves. All we like in this country is BIGMANISM! What can you do as a professional - NIL. May God save us all.

Amennnnnnnnnn

To keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done.

i am an HND holder in Electrical Engineering and i am presently in the United states. In my own opinion, the most important thing is enough experience and knowing the job. Here in the united State what employers are looking for is a person that knows the job. i presently work with a telecommunication company as a Telephone specialist. i interviewed with degree holders and i was one of the best. So knowing the skills is the important thing one should work on

in my own opinion , if the government does not believe in HND they should covert all the polytechnic into a degree granting institution. i have had the opportunity to interact with the so called Degree holders, some of the are really good and many are really half baked. i say this because i have attended so many interview, courses and workshops.

i am MICHAEL AGWU i want use this opportunity to reach out to my classmates federal polytechnic ilaro 1994 graduating class and federal polytechnic Bida 1998 graduating class and also my classmates Baptist Academy Obanikoro 1992

my telephone number is 314 575 0783, St louis Missouri USA

I know u don't know this. HND is gradually fading out or has been made to be inferior to university degrees around the world, even in the UK. This is because u spend just 2 years to get HND in UK and 3 years to get a BSC. But in nigeria HND sholud be equivalent or even more than a BSc because u spend 5 years (4 academic years and 1 year industrial training) before bagging it (HND). Take a look at the course curriculum for HND programs u will find out that the credit hours is equal or greater than that of so many degree programs in nigeria. I think we should be talking of credit load now and not Bsc /HND or university/polytechnic. Most american and British universities lay emphasis on credit load and not HND/Bsc or polytechnic/college/university. I think nigerians should equally apply that principle. I was able to get a PG program with my HND in one of the British universities. Ofcourse they saw my transcript and were convinced that my HND was worth more than what they offer there in the UK, becos HND holders in the UK spend just 2 years while we do 5 years here in nigeria.That is why HND holders in the UK go into 2nd or 3rd year Bsc programs for progression. We hold more than that in nigeria. Be aware!! please

I suggest HND be changed to B.Sc to stop the discrimination. Polytechnics should be upgraded
to University Standard.

The way I see it, its all in our minds, because even the Bsc holders are being discriminated too by their counterparts with foreign degrees. A young, perhaps 24yr old with a Bsc and Msc is made Manager or Supervisor over a Bsc holder in nija with over 4yrs experience, so wot are we talking about.

HND Graduates yes are being discriminated against, but quite alot of them are doin very well for themselves. The important thing is that one should have control over his/her life and ascertain where they want to be life and do all it takes to get there!

Rest my case. @HND Holder u really try jare.

Thank you brother.

Labour investigates discrimination against Poly graduates by banks
By Victor Ahuma-Young Posted to the Web: Wednesday, March 22, 2006

CONGRESS of Free Trade Unions of Nigeria (CFTU), a senior staff umbrella body that has the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and other Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) as one of its affiliates, has set up a committee to investigate alleged discrimination against graduates from Polytechnic, state universities and even some federal universities by employers of labour, especially the newly consolidated banks. At the end of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the body which recently took place in Kogi State, members of CFTU vowed to tackle any employer especially in the banking sector that is found to be involved in such unwholesome practice. The communique released at the end of the NEC meeting and signed by CFTU’s General Secretary, Comrade Didi Adodo, however adjudged the recently concluded re-capitalisation in the banking sector as a welcome innovation.

my brother all these na story. dem go bribe dem and dat will be the end of it. you will not hear of it again. Hnd holders are still being discriminated in most banks in nigeria. i am one of those Hnd holders working in a bank. you will soon tell me that i am right. NLC and co. are figure heads, they dont do anything. After all everybody is after money for himself. They will be given bribe and dey will recieve it and 4get the issue.

THISDAY ONLINE.htm

Polytechnics, Monotechnics to Award Degrees – NBTE
From Agaju Madugba in Kaduna, 04.04.2006

Polytechnics and monotechnics the country are to commence the award of degree certificates, the Chairman of the National Board for Technical Education, (NBTE) Dr. Stephen Oru has said.
Oru disclosed this when he led members of the newly reconstituted board on a courtesy call on Governor Ahmed Makarfi of Kaduna State.
He said the NBTE was already working out the modalities that would enable these institutions perform this new task effectively.
He said the award of degree certificates by polytechnics and monotechnics would bring to an end the current discrimination against graduates of polytechnics in the labour market.
“We are working out a formula that would promote the award of degrees through a process of evaluation and de-evaluation. The board is going to raise credits required for admission into the polytechnics from four to five credits to enhance its credibility. Technology is the number one new thing the globally and we cannot afford to be left behind,” he said.
The NBTE chairman noted that the board was established through Act.9 of 1977 and charged with the responsibility to coordinate all aspects of technical and vocational education outside the university system.
He stated that the board now supervised 108 tertiary technical institutions as well as 150 technical colleges in the country, adding that it also advised the Federal Government on the national policies necessary for the training of technical manpower in the country.
He commended the Kaduna State government for its achievements in the building and upgrading of science and technical institutions in the state, saying that he was impressed with the peaceful atmosphere in the state.
“Kaduna State has now become a model for peaceful and harmonious co-existence among the various peoples of the country in the state,” he said.

The dichotomy between HND, B.Sc
Aluta-Continua-Victoria-Ascerta!
Jimi Ademulegun,Wrote from Odode, Idanre,Ondo State

PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo’s government declaration recently that Higher National Diploma (HND) Certificate is equivalent to the university first degree is a welcome development, which has solved a seemingly threatening reality - the issue of HND/BSC dichotomy and subjugation. HND graduates have been subjugated for quite a long time, in all spheres – be it academic or job placement, by their university counterparts. Ironically, the HND graduates do the jobs while their university counterparts enjoy the benefits. This is the second time Chief Olusegun Obasanjo would delve into and resolve the HND/BSC imbroglio.In 1978, precisely, his efforts toward this end enabled the HND engineering graduate to enjoy parity with his BSC colleague then. That singular action became a watershed in removing the injustice against the HND graduate for a long time. Sometime, a little act done at the right time has optimum premium of reducing the cost of solving an uphill task. In this way, President Obasanjo seems to have scored an ace. Many people may not know the passion and frenzy with which the university certificated personnel and administrators at various levels handled the issue of HND and BSC in Nigeria, hitherto. They treat HND graduates with disdain. They are imperialistic and fascistic. Since they have taken over the rein of administration, that has been the posture. They threaten any personnel found pushing the rights of HND graduates. It is either that person is frustrated out of job or denied promotion in a gangsteristic manner. You may not know this. It is that bad. Sometime a fresher from the university is made to boss an HND graduate who may have had several years of experience, even a youth corps member who is a university graduate may earn more than the HND graduate even if the former is under his supervision or tutelage. Another dimension to it is the systematic strangulation of the HND through denial to participate in National Youth Service programme. This must be looked into and corrected. The invasion and watering down of school’s curriculum and courses in an attempt to subordinate HND graduates by all means, is now rife, through the National Board for Technical Education. Added to this is the growing fad, with a serious campaign, in the public service to denigrate HND graduates like, engineers, accountants, veterinary doctor etc, by simply them technologists so that only the university graduates bear such designations, even though professionalism and job descriptions do not change. The truth of the matter is that there is no law subordinating HND to BSC (first degree) ever. Indeed the reverse should be the case as attested to by many erudite academicians. By definition, diploma is an educational certificate of proficiency; so HND is a higher educational certificate of proficiency, while a technologist is someone who has mastery of systematic application of knowledge to practical tasks in industry. In the Civil Service Rule and Regulation, officer cadre is defined as staff who have received university degrees or professional equivalents, or serving officers who have been so appointed; while, directors are staff who have relevant university degrees or professional equivalents, and they have also attended relevant senior management training or have acquired same through considerable exposure to general management duties by virtue of their previous appointments. The question now, is what is the equivalent of a university first degree and where is the law that bars HND graduate in the emolument chart or subordinates it to a BSC? The worst offenders in HND subjugations may not be the university cronies afterall, but the HND graduates themselves, for their traitorous attitude, especially, when they are in positions of authority; they team with rivals to subvert their colleagues and the institutions awarding HND certificate by failing to lend their weights and voices in favour of their products and institution. Now that president Obasanjo has revisited and removed the unjustified dichotomy, between the HND and BSC, both federal and state executives, legislatures, and judiciary should ensure the resolution is given accelerated attention and execution. Both federal and state ministry of establishments, civil service commissions the national salaries, incomes and wages commission should be prevailed upon to execute the policy resolution this time around. www.tribune.com.ng/110306/let01.html

No respite yet for Polytechnics

Oluwole Akinjayeju,
Department of Food Technology,
Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos.

AS one of the stakeholders in polytechnic education in Nigeria, one cannot but applaud the recent pronouncement of Mr. President that henceforth, the artificial barrier placed on the career progression of polytechnic graduates in the employment of government will be removed. This cheering news that henceforth, Higher National Diploma (HND) holders in the civil service can now rise above salary grade level 14 to which they have been consigned since God-knows when, came when the president was addressing some stakeholders in the education sector who paid him a courtesy call at the Presidential Villa recently.
Coming from the president himself, one has no doubt that the pronouncement was an official policy statement, which will be fully implemented. Without being unnecessarily hasty, it will not be out of place to say a big thank you to Mr. President for this gesture, which has been long overdue. At least, it’s better late than never! One can only hope that it will not be one of those political statements made on the spur-of-the-moment.
However, the issue of limiting HND holders in the public sector to salary grade level 14 is just one of the many areas by which the polytechnic sector has suffered humiliation from both the government and the society at large, and unless these other problems are addressed, the recent pronouncement of the president will not achieve much in rescuing the polytechnic system from the abyss it has sunk to, due to no fault of those running the system. I will try to enumerate some of these areas of marginalisation against the polytechnics over the years, hoping that these areas will also receive immediate government’s attention.
Allowing HND holders in government employment to rise beyond salary level 14 will only benefit those that are lucky to be in employment in the first place. It is common knowledge now that it is becoming easier for the carmel to pass through the needle’s eye than for an HND holder to be considered for employment both in the private and public sectors of the economy. This is not because of lack of competence on the part of these products of polytechnics, but due to the age-long prejudice against polytechnic graduates. Even those already in employment are daily being threatened of disengagement.
Another form of discrimination against the polytechnics is the barrier placed on the academic progression of graduates of the system, by putting insurmountable huddles in their path for higher degrees. Polytechnics will not be allowed to run post-graduate programmes, while universities continue to give very ridiculous conditions for admission of HND holders for higher degrees. This is not only demoralising but also unfair.
Funding is yet another area that has adversely limited the potentials of polytechnics, especially when compared to the level of funding of their university counterpart. Another very serious concern to the polytechnic is the lack of a commission that will champion their cause, as is the case with other levels in the education sector from nomadic to university. It is only the polytechnic sector that has been denied a separate commission that will see to its well-being.
Two other areas that had continued to portray the polytechnics as being inferior are the issue of the Visitor to these colleges and the tenure of the term of office of their chief executive officers. Whereas the President of the country is the visitor to universities, the Minister of Education is the visitor for polytechnics. This arrangement, without prejudice to the capability of the holder of the office of Minister of Education at any time, gives the impression, albeit inadvertently, that the polytechnics are inferior to the universities. Even though they may not be the same in terms of their set-up, each one operates exclusively in its own area of mandate.

www.tribune.com.ng/sat/040306/let01.html

We will pursue all options and if it requires a bill to the National Assembly, we will be most willing to sponsor such bill. We will explore the presidential directive to the fullest because it is one of the best news about the development of technical and vocational education in this country",, Dr N. Yakubu

The Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Dr. Nuru Yakubu, has disclosed that the Federal Government has set aside N23bn in the 2006 budget for the board and federal polytechnics.

Yakubu disclosed that the board with the Rectors of the various Polytechnics have concluded plans to lobby the National Assembly to legislate on the presidential directive for the complete removal of the disparity between degree and Higher National Diploma holders describing it as the best thing that had happened to the development of technical education in the country.


The NBTE said that the directive that polytechnics should stick to their carrying capacity as well as to adhere to the ratio of 70:30 in admission would affect revenue generation by the institutions.

He explained that due to expected decline in revenue generation 'we have commenced lobby of the National Assembly members on the need, if the opportunity avails itself, to increase in particular the overhead grant in the federal polytechnics.'

On the removal of the disparity between degree and HND holders, he said that they would work with all relevant bodies, organisations persons and major stakeholders to actualise it.

He said that they were considering all options including a law to make it illegal for any employer to discriminate against holders of HND in terms of employment.

"We will pursue all options and if it requires a bill to the National Assembly, we will be most willing to sponsor such bill. We will explore the presidential directive to the fullest because it is one of the best news about the development of technical and vocational education in this country",î he said.

A Perspective On The Discrimination Against Nigerian HND Holders

By

Christian Dimkpa

Germany

Dimkpa@uni-jena.de



At present, the average Nigerian graduate, be they of the university or the polytechnic hue, is largely poorly trained and therefore ill equipped to face life’s dynamic realities. On a visit to Nigeria last summer, one of my former lecturers at the Michael Okpara College of Agriculture (MOCA), Owerri Imo State, during a discussion, concluded that the last set of motivated and serious students of his college graduated in 1998. I agreed with him not because I was of that set, but because my HND research project attests to that. However, I remembered that this same lecturer, like several of his peers, rather than engage the students in rigorous academic work, sold plagiarised hand-outs to us like no man’s business. This brings me to the recent directive from President Obasanjo, aimed at ending the discrimination between HND and BSc graduates. Whether employers of labour are heeding this directive or not, is another story. But, tell me, what is there to discriminate against when both qualifications (as obtained from Nigeria in recent times) reek of mediocrity? The truth is, like his BSc counterpart, the present Nigerian HND graduate is a lazy, dependent fellow who would not take his destiny in his hands. Many students attend polytechnics for several reasons. For me, but also, am sure, for many ND students, being from just an average-resource base family, undertaking an ND program was a form of security, since the later is of shorter duration, and there is no guaranteed funding for the longer BSc program. It was reasoned that in the event of loss of sponsorship (from death or loss of job by the sponsor); one can pause after the ND, work for a while and then continue with higher studies. For the much longer BSc program, loss of sponsorship midway could see the individual involved back to school certificate level. Would you blame anyone for reasoning this way? I wouldn’t; with poverty so palpable in Nigeria.



Although I was fully aware of the discrimination phenomenon, I did not let it be a road-block to my ambition. If you will permit, a brief delve into my career might help to buttress this point. I use to hold (of course, I still hold) a National Diploma (ND) and a HND in Crop Production, both from relatively non-renown higher institutions in Nigeria. However, it is instructive that today, I am pursuing a PhD program at one of the prestigious Max Planck institutes in Germany (best research institute in Europe and eight best globally), and this is in an innovative field of study that perhaps, may never be conducted in any Nigerian university many years from now. This is after obtaining an International MSc degree in Belgium from a university that is listed among the first 300 globally. Note that no Nigerian university is in the first 500, and in the newspaper recently, one Nigerian stakeholder lamented that even if the ranking is extended to the first 5000 best universities, Nigerian universities would still not make the list.



After my HND studies in 1998, I worked with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan, as a Research Assistant. During the interview for that position, several BSc graduate applicants from ‘well-known’ universities such as UI, UniLag, OAU-Ile Ife, among others, were interviewed as well, but the big university names associated with those individuals did not save them from relegation, as they say in football parlance. What I am emphasising here is that it is the intellectual quality of the individual, not the institution attended, that often matters. If you know IITA, then you will agree with me that when it comes to staff recruitment, personal merit is the watchword, not merely possessing a HND or BSc degree.



Afterwards, I applied for graduate studies at the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta (UNAAB). Surprisingly or not, I was not considered suitable for admission either because of my HND (upper credit), or because I do not come from that part of Nigeria (remember that tribalism is another serious scourge in Nigeria). But that is by the way. Nevertheless, I did not relent in my desire to attain the highest academic level possible, so that in spite of possessing a HND and the unexplained rejection by UNAAB, and thanks to hundreds of internet hours, I soon obtained a full scholarship from the Belgian inter-university council (www.vlir.be) in 2003, to study Molecular Biology (Plant Biotechnology) in that country. When I arrived in Belgium for the MSc program, I found out that of 241 Nigerians who applied for scholarship for the course, I was the only one admitted. Remember, I held a HND, not the ‘almighty’ BSc. The curious mind that I am, I inquired more about the unsuccessful Nigerian applicants and behold, they were mostly university graduates (again from UI, UniLag, OAU, UNN, UniPort, etc). Of course, two other students of The Polytechnic Ibadan were also admitted but for a different MSc course. That polytechnic offers only HND and not BSc programs. Such is the power of the individual merit. I have since acquitted myself very well in the Belgian MSc program; hence I was admitted, again on full fellowship, to one of the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) of the Max Planck society in Germany (http://www.mpg.de/english and also (http://www.ice.mpg.de) , to study beneficial plant-microbe interaction using modern biotechniques, including proteomics and metabolomics. The other Nigerian scholars, formerly holding HNDs, have since undertaken different higher pursuits here in Europe. This narrative does not by any means attempt to denigrate Nigerian BSc graduates or the universities from which they graduated, but rather to de-emphasise the entrenched segregation. There is even a dichotomy between federal and state university graduates. Wonders shall never end, in Nigeria! From my experience, it can be seen that the senseless HND-BSc dichotomy should have no place in the mind of any serious-minded Nigerian graduate. After all, the HND is fully recognised in the UK and have several equivalents in other European countries. What then is all the fuss about it in Nigeria? My little advice to the Nigerian HND holder who have suffered this discrimination, and who feel qualified enough for certain positions denied them is this: do not let man-made barriers block your ambition, except you have none. Take a cue from others; take time off to do meaningful internet browsing, not using the internet for 419 and other such negative activities. In no time, you too can obtain scholarships to foreign and much better rated institutions of higher learning. By so doing you would have catapulted yourself well beyond any possible academic discrimination if you choose to return to Nigeria to work.





Christian Dimkpa, a PhD fellow of the International Max Planck Research School, writes from Jena, Germany (cdimkpa@ice.mpg.de)

AS a matter of fact from several university graduates and poly graduates that i have seen i found it very difficult to get an engineering student that can defend his certificate most especially university graduates,i am a FUTO student i know what is happening in school and i know what is happening is poly nekede they are far more better that some futo student,that some some didi not get admission in to uni doesn't mean anything all the certificate should be made equal because even bill gate of microsoft coperation is not a university graduate zinox computers is a poly graduate and many other dint mind some selfish Nigerians that dint want to recognize the good things to to most banks you find so many poly students doing very well OK .some uni students dint have time for industrial training like imsu in some of there courses all should be made equal

Fafunwa, Others Hail FG over HND, Varsity Degree Parity

Former Minister of Education, Prof. Babs Fafunwa has lauded President Olusegun Obasanjo for abolishing the dichotomy between HND and University degree holders.
Fafunwa, also a former university Vice Chancellor gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday.
According to him, the government's bold move would encourage HND holders to put in their best in the nation's development.
NAN recalls that Obasanjo had on Thursday in Abuja during a meeting with stakeholders in education sector pronounced that HND holders should be allowed to go beyond Grade Level 14 like their university counterparts.
Fafunwa said that he had been calling for the removal of the disparity between HND holders and  degree holders even before he became a minister.
Each person's ability should determine where he gets to and not the certificate, the former Minister said, adding that the system would now be more open to all to have a career.
Fafunwa urged universities to toe government step by not subjecting HND holders to post graduate diploma courses before they could be allowed to enrol for Master's degree programmes.
He also called on the universities to grant Ordinary National Diploma (OND) holders direct admission for their various programmes.
An HND holder, Mr Tony Nezianya, said that the disparity was unnecessary, pointing out that the one year compulsory industrial training for OND holders before they proceeded to do HND programmes had made up for whatever shortcomings.
“The HND addresses a special manpower need of the country and the government should provide the necessary encouragement for holders to offer their best,” Nezianya said.
Miss Jenniffer Mbonu, a degree holder said the removal of the ``barrier '' would compensate HND holders for their excellence in the application of technical knowledge.
`` The HND holders have more practical knowledge than degree holders,'' she argued.
Mbonu, however, advised that the minimum entry requirements into both the universities and the polytechnics be harmonised ``so that the degree holders will not be cheated.''
However, Messrs Silas Nwoha, Moses Edhosa and Mrs Cecilia Adepoju said that President was hasty in making the pronouncement.
They are of the opinion that government should have set up a committee to re-appraise the education policy as it affected  HND, pointing that  the president's pronouncement should have been based on the recommendation of such a committee.
`` Mere pronouncement can not change such a policy,'' Nwoha stressed, adding that the HND education policy was made to meet a particular manpower need of the country and should not be dropped if the need had not been met.

Souce: Thisday Newspaper

All these na story. Let government enact a law to back it up, else it won’t be last long. Mere pronouncement is not enough. What about the private sector? How are they going to do with them?

Why FG removes ceiling on HND graduates
HASSAN IBRAHIM, Kaduna - 22.05.2006
http://www.tribune.com.ng/22052006/news/news6.html

THE removal of the ceiling placed on career progression of Higher National Diploma (HND) holders is a clear indication that the Obasanjo administration takes technical education with seriousness, Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Engineer (Dr.) Nuru Yakubu, has said.


He spoke in Kaduna during the submission of the reports of the committee on modalities for the removal of the ceiling placed on HND holders at the NBTE headquarters. Before, HND holders could not exceed Level 14 in the civil service, but President Olusegun Obasanjo issued a presidential directive on January 5 that the ceiling placed on their career progression be removed.


According to Dr. Yakubu, this would give those with HND certificates the chance to compete with degree holders even at the labour market where the disparity had been posing a great threat to them. He commended the Federal Government for the removal of the ceiling, adding that Nigeria was the only country where HND holders were discriminated upon.


Chairman of the 17-member committee, Engineer Ahmed Rufai, had earlier blamed successive governments who failed to underscore the relevance of monotechnic/polytechnic systems through appropriate recognition of their status. “Even when the mandate of polytechnics were reviewed to include offering HND and curricula upgraded, government failed to make commensurate review of relevant statues, policies and laws to reflect the new reality and opportunities for HND holders”, he said.


He suggested that HND should be termed high level manpower while ND should remain the certificate of middle level manpower, and urged that admission requirements and entrance examination into polytechnics and universities should be harmonised.


“The strategy for the survival of the Nigerian industry and economic growth must be aimed at the production of adequate and qualitative manpower from both the polytechnics/monotechnics and the university system. In addition, improvement on industrial development and economic growth will depend on the removal of all elements of distortion, such as the ceiling on career progression of HND holders”, he said.


Engineer Rufai said there should be improvement in the funding of the polytechnics to underscore the premium placed on technology as the cornerstone of industrial development, adding that the report would be submitted to the office of the Head of Service of the Federation as well as the Federal Ministry of Education.

Let polytechnics start running MTech/MSc and Phd programs first, that is when we will agree with all the noise government have been making about Technological/Technical education. I,m tired of reading their stories becos they talk more and act less.

Kaduna polytechnic started with PG now more polytechnics are doing just that now including poly ibadan. ABU Zaria admitted PGD run in the polytechnic for its masters program then PhD. Note that Polytechnic mandate is ND primarily.

If polytechnics can run and award PG Diploma then they should be empowered to run MTech/MSc as well as Phd Degrees. After all most polytechnics in nigeria have Phd holders as lecturers, and they have the equipments, labs, workshops, computer center and library to run masters and doctorate degree programs. This will stop or reduce the rate at which polytechnic graduates with HND go for a PGD before doing MSc or MTech. Imagine HND distinction and HND upper credit will have to do a PGD first before doing MSc or MTech. That issue should be addressed urgently i beg. HND-holder pls help us fight it out oo!!

You are wrong, even with Degree you must do PGD to move to other courses in other faculty. Not untill technology is be run as a degree can Diplomate get degree without PGD

With HND now you can have professional master direct.

I'm talking of someone with a distinction or upper credit in computer science for instance who wants to do MSc computer science in the university; why on earth must he do a PGD in computer science first? Whereas some people with second class lower BSc computer science degree will be admitted directly into the MSc computer course.

i just wonder.

The problem started when the polytechnic courses became branded with the titile technology.

Something could still be done about it. Afterall Technology and science go together. Let science alone move itself forward without Technology lets see. Its very very impossible. Na government i blame for all these; they dont even know what science is not to talk of Technology.