Sign BSC/HND dichotomy bill before vacating office — ASUP urges Buhari
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, (ASUP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sign into law the Bill to eradicate BSC/HND Dichotomy before he vacates office on May 29 to his successor.
The National President of ASUP, Comrade Anderson Ezeibe, who made the call in an interview in Abuja, said that the dichotomy has worrisomely made young Nigerians not to be interested in the Polytechnic education in the country.
He added that it would be a memorable legacy if President Buhari should assent to the dichotomy bill before he exits office.
However, “We are urging President Buhari to go ahead and sign that bill into law, which will be another way of saving this sector.
“Meanwhile, as we speak the Roman figures are dropping significantly so because the sector is losing its attraction to young people, we expect him to sign this bill. Other stakeholders in the sector have also been calling for him to do so. It will be an enduring legacy if the President succeeds in doing this before he leaves office.”
According to him, he contended that stakeholders in the polytechnic education sector had urged the Ninth National Assembly to pass the “Bill for an Act to Abolish and Prohibit Dichotomy and Discrimination between First Degree and Higher National Diploma.”
The National Assembly in 2021 passed the “Bill for an Act to Abolish and Prohibit Dichotomy and Discrimination between First Degree and Higher National Diploma in the Same Profession/Field for the Purpose of Employment; and for Related Matters,” and has presented it to President Buhari for assent before it can become a law.
Similarly, the bill is seeking to legislate the discrimination of polytechnic graduates from their university counterparts in employment and promotion in the workplace.
The bill also seeks to end the discrimination that stakeholders in the polytechnics have, which for long they sought an end to.
The piece of legislation, sponsored by Senator Ayo Akinyelure, passed the third reading on the floor of the Senate at plenary.
While commenting, The Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Ahmad Kaita, presented his report and all the amended six clauses were approved by the Senate.
Furthermore, the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Ibrahim Shekarau (APC, Kano Central), said, “The enactment of the bill to abolish and prohibit discrimination between First Degrees and Higher National Diploma for the purpose of employment in Nigeria will no doubt free holders of HND from stagnation and ensure balanced treatment with their counterparts from other higher tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
“Unlike the graduates of Universities, HND holders cannot rise to Grade Level GL 17 in the civil service government and also applicable in most private organisations.
“Also, at the entry level in the civil service, Polytechnic graduates are placed on GL 07 while university graduates are placed on level 8 and being rated higher as if they are lower than them, while they are of the same first degree of the country.”
