The issue of how HND graduates are treated in Nigeria will always be a sensitive one because most people do not want to offend others.
Are they being treated fairly by others? No . Are they being fair to themselves? No.

We live in a country where (whether we agree to it or not), things are not done the way they should. Take it from the top down to the bottom where the average Nigerian exists, we have embraced very bad methods of getting things done. Intellectual merit no longer counts for anything and has been replaced with social merits and community sentiments.

I can go on about the state of the nation but that's not all there is to this problem. We are to be blamed also. When you look at all the threads that have been created to address this issue, you'll understand my position. The most common of fighting points is that, the HND is an equivalent of the Bachelors degree. So, is it an equivalent? in most cases yes, but not all, and even then, it's equivalent not equal to.
Before you let sentiments take you over, ask yourself why you need a PGD to continue into Masters. These are just the facts as they are.

Such is the strength of the bias that even graduates of polytechnics say "HND and Degree", correct me if i'm wrong but has the meaning of degree been changed? is the HND not a degree?
The problem starts with us, reason is this; why do Nigerians (most if not all) attend polytechnics in the first place? You can twist the reasons however you want but the truth is that, it's because most could not secure admission either by merit or connection into a university. That means, we have a whole institution of people who'd rather be elsewhere. What manner of graduates do you then expect from there?

I'd like to believe that there was a time when people attended polytechnics because it was the best place for them to be. Is that still the case?

we are talking about a nation where the so called university graduates can't even string words together to form a proper sentence not to mention displaying intelligence in more complex areas.

For so long, we have lied to ourselves on what the real issue is. people with 2:1 grades lose jobs to others who are not as sound for reasons other than merit. people with 2:2 experience pain like you cannot imagine when they are not allowed to apply for jobs. 3rd class and pass grades? don't even think about it. But then, are we saying these graduates are not capable of delivering better than some who were thought to be highly rated? experience has shown that for most jobs it's about being streetwise not a bookworm.

so what am i saying? i'm saying if you have an HND don't expect Nigerians not to discriminate because they will. That doesn't make it right but it is what it is, you are not the only ones facing it. And yes you cannot totally blame them because when you think about it, HND graduates don't prove themselves too ! Again i ask you to check other threads and see the manner of language and sense being dropped.

Wake yourself up, and find a way to restore a personal competitive advantage for yourself, do the PGD, do your Masters, get professional certifications, be selfish, go all out to show that you are better than whoever it is that you have been pitched against because in the end, that's all that counts. And yes, this also includes university graduates as most of us found out the hard way, in Nigeria, your grades count for little. It's sad but it's the truth. The people who are to make the changes we currently seek don't exist on the pages of social websites so let's change the approach, let's change how we are seen (regardless of grade) and take it to them where they are.

I'm sure a lot of people will attempt to take this personal but then i'm also sure that, at least one person out there will read this and go on to make the steps to get better and be relevant once again. For that one person? it's worth the effort. Peace

Woww.. Very thought provoking. There is descrimination in some quarters even against 2.1, Private unis, state unis, Nigerian degree as whole, state of origin, age, physical appearance, etc.. The list is endless. The best way to fight descrimination is to proove yourself by being the best at what you do.
Nice post. Keep it up.

But Total Nigeria called only Ond and Hnd in their latest recruitment excluding BSc and MSc. Is dat not discrimination and injustice

DMainMan: But Total Nigeria called only Ond and Hnd in their latest recruitment excluding BSc and MSc. Is dat not discrimination and injustice

This recruitment was for what position? Therein lies the reason why.