73 per cent of Nigerians nationwide agree that President Bola Tinubu should sign a bill seeking to abolish the disparity between HND certificate holders and university degree holders in the country, while 27 per cent disagree in a public opinion poll conducted by The Punch on Monday, June 26.
Recall that the HND/BSc dichotomy issue has lingered for a long time. The PUNCH reports that in 2021, the Senate passed a bill seeking to abolish the dichotomy between the HND certificate and the university degree holders in the country.
The piece of legislation, sponsored by Senator Ayo Akinyelure, passed the third reading on the floor of the Senate at plenary.
The National Association of Polytechnic Students Deputy Senate President, Adeniji Temitope, in a press statement, in April 2023, said Nigerian polytechnic students and polytechnic graduates faced difficulties of dichotomy.
Also, some netizens expressed their thoughts through the comment section of the poll.
A netizen, Olugbeje Blessing Olaniran wrote, “Polytheistic (sic) is based on the pragmatism of skilled labour so it can never be rated as the same level with University (degree is quite different from diploma or high diploma award).”
Another netizen, Ibrahim Kaze Ishaya wrote, “I’m against such a bill. The dichotomy started right from admission and I feel it should be maintained.
That won’t be fair to University graduates either. If this be considered, the cutoff mark should be equalised period.”
“It’s an act long overdue. Signing an equalisation bill into law, wouldn’t mean the two degrees are one and the same.
It just follows that they’d then enjoy similar status in the scheme of things, other than what is studied. I look forward to the time, and I hope that’s soon”, James Michael Igiri commented.