HND/BSc DICHOTOMY

DISCRIMINATIONS AGAINST HND HOLDERS IN NIGERIA: A THREAT TO POLYTECHNIC EDUCATION AND THE FUTURE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA.
Some years, months, weeks, days and hours ago  when you graduated from the polytechnics  or monotechnics, with a Higher National Diploma in your chosen field (or the course you were given against your initial choice ) you probably beat your chest, threw your legs up into high heaven and swathed the air as having made an achievement of a life time. And from that moment onward, you started referring to yourself as a graduate. Your excitement was heightened the more when you were mobilized for the national service under the National Youth Service Corp scheme (NYSC)- after all, only graduates are qualified for such exercise. However, after all the hypes and the euphoria of graduation from the Monotechnics/ Polytechnics as well as the successful completion of the national service is over, and you were ushered into the labour market, what did you face? A different reality dawned on you - that was when you discovered that you could not confidently call yourself a graduate in the same way your university counterpart is addressed. Well, the truth is this, you are not a graduate yet. This is because the same government that set up the polytechnic/monotechnic educational institutions says, through its various policies and actions in this regard, that YOU ARE NOT A GRADUATE YET IN THE SAME WAY YOUR UNIVERSITY COUNTERPART CAN BE ADDRESSED AS GRADUATES. Your only offence is that you went to the polytechnic and monotechnics. You are not alone in this dilemma. I am also a polytechnic graduate and I am highly disturbed by this state of affairs. Do not lecture me about obtaining a postgraduate diploma to bridge the gap, I also have a postgraduate diploma to back me up but it hasn't shielded me from discrimination.  In every well established system in this country,  discrimination stares every polytechnic/monotechnic graduate in the face. It is against this background that I decided to write this short piece just to remind the government and those whose responsibility it is to promote and protect the future of technical education in this country that the continuous systemically-backed discriminations against HND holders is a highly toxic threat to the future of technical education in Nigeria. Besides, I will offer some few candid advice to the HND graduates as well as those contemplating the pursuit of education in the polytechnic/monotechnic institutions in Nigeria.
As stated earlier, discriminations against HND graduates in the public and some private institutions in Nigeria is a serious threat to the future of technical education in Nigeria. Nigeria desires and plans to be among the most developed economies by the year 2020 as contained in the well-articulated VISION 2020 DOCUMENT. To achieve this, technical education is emphasized, among others, as a means. However, with the discriminations being meted out to graduates of polytechnic/monotechnic institutions, I doubt the possibility of becoming one of the top twenty economies in the world by 2020. It is instructive to note that the place of technical know-how or expertise in the overall development of a nation cannot and should not be compromised. Today, countries of Japan, Singapore, China, USA, Israel, Germany and recently India just to mention a few are reckoned with great admirations by many because they have been able to develop a highly technological capabilities and train manpower to manage their technological society. We are borrowing a leaf from these countries, developing our own technical capacity to solve our technological problems. But, a dearth of technical manpower or workforce is imminent in our technical sector ,thanks to the existence of HND/BSc Dichotomy which has continued to discourage Nigerian students from seeking education in the Polytechnics and monotechnics. The universities cannot meet these needs alone. This is why the onus is on the government to take practical steps towards eradicating the dichotomy. Enough of this offensive discriminatory practice against polytechnic and monotechnic graduates.
To the polytechnic and monotechnic graduates, I strongly suggest, in order to help eliminate this discrimination, to go to a university or any degree-awarding institution of your choice and acquire a degree- B.Sc, B.A or B.ED depending on your area of specialization, for the only language Nigerian employers -government or private, understand is bachelors degrees. You can do it full or part time depending on your schedules and financial strength. As for me, I'm going back to school to get a bachelors degree. I want to be a lecturer for that is the only profession that gives me Joy and fulfilment. But I need a bachelors degree in addition to the National and Higher National Diploma, and a postgraduate Diploma in Education (ND, HND, PGDE) which I already have, to be qualified to lecture in the tertiary education institutions particularly universities and colleges of Education. One strong lesson I have learnt is that, the whole discrimination scenario is  an eye opener for me. Consequently, I have decided  there shall be no more polytechnic and monotechnic product in my family ever again since the Nigerian government has made it seem like it's  a curse to attend a polytechnic or monotechnics. Only NCE and Bachelors degree shall my family members seek to pursue at undergraduate levels.
To the prospective students or candidates, I say, do not seek HND admission anymore. After the national diploma, say goodbye to the polytechnic and monotechnics. Go for direct entry admissions into the university. It doesn't matter how many years it may take you to get in to the university or a degree-awarding institutions, just make sure you get a degree.
Let me conclude this short write-up by re-emphasizing that the systemically and institutionally-backed discriminations against HND holders in Nigeria is a great threat to the future of technical education in the country.
Ogiri John Ogiri lives in Abuja.
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