Finally, this is a good news for Nigerian students as it has been confirmed that the
HND/Bsc dichotomy in the educational system has been removed, but
surprisingly enough, some professors are against
the move. Read on
Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu yesterday confirmed the
abolition of the dichotomy that hitherto existed between the Higher
National Diploma (HND) and University degree otherwise known as B.Sc.
The Minister who announced the official position of the government in
Abuja yesterday said the stories that has been on social media has
element of mischief.
“The dichotomy between Bsc and HND has been eliminated,” he said.
Daily Sun gathered that the National Council on Establishments (NCE) has also given approval for the abolition of the dichotomy.
The Minister, last month announced that the government had concluded
plans to abolish the dichotomy that hitherto existed between these two
educational qualifications, but a reliable source in the Ministry said
the policy announcement was put on hold pending the decision of the
National Council on Establishments and the Federal Executive Council
(FEC).
“This is serious education policy that has effect on millions of
Nigerian students. So, the Minister is very careful not to make mistake
that would further compound the issue. To this end, he (the Minister)
decided to wait for the input of all stakeholders,” the source said.
However, some scholars have expressed mixed reaction to the plan of the government to abolish the dichotomy.
A lecturer from the University of Abuja who pleaded said instead of
abolition, a short post-graduate program should be developed for
polytechnic graduates to brush them up and bring them up to the level of
the University graduates.
“Why would you want to abolish the dichotomy and put both qualifications
side by side when the entry requirements for university is higher than
that of polytechnics. For instance, there are specific number of
Professors and P.hD holders required in a particular faculty in a
university, unlike in the polytechnics, where, in some cases, you
discover that it is university graduates that are teaching the
students,” he said.
The president of the Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities (ASUU),
Professor Biodun Ogunyemi also opposed the abolish the dichotomy.
“The tenacity of these two qualifications is tested at the work place.
People have been saying that there is no disparity between HND and
Degree certificate but I don’t see how both graduates can match each
other especially at the level of work place.