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As the burning issue of Higher National Diploma HND and Bachelor of Science BSC dichotomy rages, the Rector, Kogi State Polytechnic, Professor Salisu Ogbo Usman, has blamed the Federal Government for its lack of vision and loss of focus for technical and Technology education in Nigeria.
Professor Usman described the dichotomy as useless, baseless, and unnecessary, saying that if the Government had remained focused and committed to the growth of technology education as the bedrock of national development, the issues of dichotomy or parity would not have arisen in all ramifications.
Prof. Usman asserted on Wednesday at the sideline at the Convocation Press briefing organized by the Polytechnic to mark the 5th combined convocation ceremony in Lokoja.
The erudite scholar noted that the dichotomy arose because the policy makers pay lip service to the intent and purposes for the establishment of Polytechnic colleges of Technology in the country.
He said, the purpose and mandate of the Polytechnic is unambiguous, with a distinct curriculum that would enhance career path and progression for the students.
He, however, bemoaned government policy somersaults and lack of focus, which abandoned technical, innovative, and technology education and allowed it to wander in the wilderness of uncertainty.
The erudite scholar decried the discrimination, saying, “HND holders who found themselves in the class are called instructors, while the BSC counterparts are referred to as lecturers, a situation that has reduced HND to a second-class certificate even in an institution that trained them.
He said the plight of HND holders became worse when they cannot rise to the position of a Registrar or assume other higher responsibilities in the Polytechnic system because they are classified as higher executive cadre, HEO.
“As far as I’m concerned, a lecturer is a lecturer, a journalist is a journalist. In Engineering, we have Civil Engineers and Electrical Engineers, who have a specific area of practice without class distinction. A medical doctor is different from a pharmacist, a trained Nurse is different from an auxiliary nurse, with each having career progression without necessarily undermining the other, while they are all contributing to the growth and development of the healthcare sector.
He added that the discrimination arose in the first place when the policy makers lost focus on the mandate of the Polytechnic system in the country.
He noted that unless the system remains focused and removes the barriers to the products of the Polytechnic, it would continue to be motion without movement and a clog to the development of the country.
