Reps Pass Bill Ending HND/BSC Dichotomy

The House of Representatives has passed the bill abolishing the age long dichotomy between Higher National Diploma (HND) and Bachelor’s of Science (BSc) degree holders in the country. The bill which is titled, “a bill for an act to abolish and prohibit dichotomy and discrimination between first degrees and HND in the same profession”, seeks to bring to an end, the consistent discrimination against polytechnic graduates and address other challenges faced HND holders face in the public service. It would be recalled that the House in April 2017, read the bill for a second time. Eyes Of Lagos reports, Also recall that, the federal government recently abolished the dichotomy in the ministry of interior. Speaking on the bill, one of the sponsors, Hon. Edward Pwajok, while lamenting the dichotomy, said that the practice would open up the status of Nigeria’s educational institutions to ridicule. Pwakoj noted the practice which places HND holders on grade level 6 or 7, as against grade level 8 for degree holder, also reflects in salary structure as some organisations pay degree holders N100,000 at entry level, while their counterparts with HND get N70,000.