Hnd Graduates Can Now Rise Above Level 14

Apple-Mac Computers have a very good example of how to respect hnd holders, or rather how to use the skills of technology-based education. But the question in the Nigerian case, may not have been asked or answered, until the president becomes a hnd holder too. Otherwise, it would remain a slow and steady upgrading of one group of people by the other group. It's clear that all men and women are not equal in Nigeria too.

FG, corporate bodies hold onto HND/Degree discrimination
By Olubusuyi Adenipekun Posted to the Web: Thursday, January 12, 2006
  Federal Government gave an impression last week that the official policy which approved a discriminatory treatment against holders of the Higher National Diploma (HND) in the country has been reversed, there is no hope that both government and corporate bodies will end the disparity between the polytechnic and university graduates. Indeed, the announced reversal of the policy which prevents HND holders from rising above salary grade level 14 in the civil service is a policy sommersault. This is so because the federal government recently gave the impression that it was more interested in employing university graduates than HND holders when it directed the federal civil service to commence the process of employing graduates with first and second class upper degrees. No directive was given on HND holders with high grades. In effect, the scapping of the salary disparity is to be enjoyed by HND holders who are already in the civil service. This employment discrimination which polytechnic products suffer is not limited to government establishments alone. The situation is worse with corporate organisations which do not consider HND holders worthy of being offered employment opportunities. In recent years, most newspaper staff vacancy advertisements of banks, oil companies and other corporate bodies request for university graduates with first class and second class upper degrees only, without considering HND holders with equally high grades. Recently, some banks announced that polytechnic products on their staff would be disengaged as part of the process of consolidation in the banking sector. Two important developments engendered the employment discrimination which HND holders are now contending with. The first is the abysmally poor performances of many university graduates at work places, an unsavoury situation that arose from the diminishing standards of education in the country. Many employers have had to expend a fortune on retraining graduate employees before they can be productive. If many university graduates of nowadays are so deficient, many prospective employers readily jumped to the conclusion that polytechnic products are simply not employable. The second cause of the discrimination of HND holders in job offers has to do with the poor state of the economy rather than their academic deficiency. According to Mrs Abimbola Odugbesan, rector of Yaba College of Technology between 1994 and 2001, "the reason why HND holders are being rejected by many organisations is not as if they are inferior or because they don’t perform. The main problem is that the economy is bad, it is employers’ market. They find a way of weeding people out. You have seen polytechnic graduates excelling in many areas. Private establishments should first assess the performances of HND holders instead dismissing themoutrightly." This view is informed by experience from interview panels which shows that those with HND could put up more impressive performance than those brandishing degree certificates. Government itself is quite aware of the enormous contributions of many HND holders to national development. According to the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Education, Alhaji Ahmad Lawan "so many HND holders have contributed or are contributing very meaningfully to the development of Nigeria but the discrimination that is put on them places some kind of disadvantage not only on the holders but on the country as well." Vocational and technical education, say analysts, has been identified as the bedrock of the nation’s, technological and industrial take off which the nation badly craves for and any policy that discriminates against the products of such technical education is simply a misdirected one.




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