Bill to abolish discrimination between First Degree, HND passes second reading

A Bill to abolish discrimination between HND and BSc passes second reading in the House of Representatives today tuesday April 11.

In Nigeria holder of Higher National Diploma (HND) are inferior to their Bachelor of Science (BSc) counterparts. The degree holders are placed on Grade level 8 while the diploma holders are placed on Grade level 6or 7.

The bill to abolish such discrimination was sponsored by PDP's Ali Isa representing Balanga/Billiri constituency in Gombe state and Edward Pwajok representing Jos South/East constituency in Plateau state.

Contributing to the debate, Rep. Pwajok said a research he carried out on both certificates, showed that the discrimination had no moral justification.

He also said that the unfortunate situation would make the international community to look down on the status of educational institutions in the country. The lawmaker said that it was unfortunate that such discrimination existed in a critical sector required for national development, regretting that there was a lot of dichotomy at employment level.

He also point out that in some organisations, degree holders were paid N100, 000 at entry level, while their counterparts with HND were paid N70, 000. But, the lawmaker said, in other countries, technical experts were paid higher than administrators, adding that “the reverse is the case in this country.’

He said the Private sectors must give the same recognition to the Polytechnic and similar institutions graduates if they want to develop.

After the debate, the Speaker of the House, Mr Yakubu Dogara, forwarded the matter to the Committee on Tertiary Education and Services for further actions.