BSc , HND dichotomy remains until civil service reform is completed, says Nigerian government

The dichotomy between BSc and HND holders will remain until an ongoing review of the Scheme of Service is completed, but the Nigerian government said it is committed to removing the dichotomy as soon its completed.

Penpushing reports that, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Folasade Yemi-Esan made the clarification on Wednesday after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting held in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT)

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, however, said the removal was not contained in the just-completed review of the Public Service Rules (PSR) but will be included in the review of the ‘Scheme of Service’ which, she said, is currently ongoing

“On the discrepancies between HND and degree programme. It’s in the Scheme of Service that this will be reflected not in the PSR. It’s the Scheme of Service that describes entry points and things like that. And currently, we’re reviewing the scheme of service, it’s just that we did this first, and then we’ll do the scheme of service. So that’s where that will be reflected”, she said 

Penpushing further reports that, currently, Nigerian polytechnic graduates are awarded HND while university graduates are awarded BSc or its equivalent, however, HND holders are often discriminated against when joining or exiting the public service as they are placed at a level below their BSc counterparts.

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), as well as many Nigerians have called for the removal of that dichotomy and while the federal government has expressed its interest in doing so.

Penpushing also reports that, currently, in Nigeria’s civil service, the practice is that a new employee with a BSc is placed on a salary grade level 8 while the HND certificate holder counterpart is placed on a level lower.

The BSc holder is recruited as a commissioned officer in the security service, while an HND holder is also placed on a step lower, and an HND graduate is also not expected to go higher than GL 13 in the service while a B.Sc graduate can attain Level 17.

Penpushing reports that, it is recalled that, the discrimination formed the basis of the agitation by the relevant individuals and groups including the leadership of the National Association of Polytechnic Students ( NAPS), the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), among others.

The Senate at the National Assembly recently, passed a bill prohibiting employers in the country from discriminating between Bsc and HND holders, just as the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan said the passage of the bill would serve as a motivation to graduate from polytechnics.

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