The Ministry of Education has denied harmonizing the degrees and higher national diploma awarded by universities and polytechnics.A spokesperson for the ministry denied recent reports that the dichotomy between Bachelors and HNDs had been abolished, saying HND holders must meet new requirements to attain the Bachelors level.
Speaking to Bsugist.com on Friday, Benjamin Goong, said the ministry lacked the power to end the inequality.
He however said the government had taken steps to bridge the gap to ensure HND holders are treated fairly when seeking for jobs.
“Two weeks ago, the ministry sent a memo to the National Council of Establishments (NCE) to institute a bridging program for the HND holders and the proposal was approved.
“The bridging program is for HND holders who can either attend the National Teachers Institute (NTI) or any institution offering post-graduate diploma programs, before they can attain the level graduates can attain in the public sector.
“As per the approved memo, after the bridging program, HND holders will now be offered jobs from grade level 8 and finish at grade level 17 like graduates. Before now, HND holders were only allowed grade level 7 and finish at grade level 14.
“That is as far as it goes for now regarding the B.Sc and HND dichotomy. Both are still very different from each other,” he said.
An education analyst, Dorothy Oseni, said creation of jobs for both B.Sc and HND holders was the surest way of bridging the gap between both classes of educated people.
“When the government, industries and companies no longer discriminate against HND holders in the labour market, the dichotomy will die a natural death,” she said.
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