BOOM 🔥🔥 FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC ADO EKITI, ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CALLS FOR GAP BETWEEN HND-DEGREE AND BACHELOR QUALIFICATIONS.

                        1 minutes read ⏱️ 5:54am

By Prof Hõlå Isååç ☦️ 

The Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti Alumni Association has urged an urgent end to the distinction between Higher National Diploma (HND) and Bachelor's degree qualifications, arguing this move would boost skills development, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Nigeria. According to Busayo Adeyemi, Publicity Secretary of the FPA Alumni Association, in a statement issued in Ado Ekiti on Monday, the existing divide has denied thousands of polytechnic graduates equal opportunities in employment and career advancement.

Adeyemi emphasized, "Ending this divide is urgent. The world of work today values skills, innovation, and problem-solving over certificate titles. Nigeria cannot industrialise while sidelining its own technically skilled workforce." He added, "The Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, and other polytechnics nationwide deserve to be celebrated, not diminished. Their graduates are innovators, entrepreneurs, and professionals who should stand shoulder to shoulder with their university counterparts."

Highlighting the capabilities of polytechnic graduates, Adeyemi noted Nigerian polytechnics have produced highly beneficial graduates nationally and globally. "Take the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti as an example: Since its establishment in 1977, it has become one of the country’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning, producing graduates who excel in engineering, sciences, business, and technology. Many of them have gone on to thrive not only in Nigeria, but also in advanced economies abroad where their qualifications face no such discrimination."

The Alumni Association joins other bodies like the Association of Private Polytechnics in Nigeria (APPIN) in calling for policy change. APPIN recently appealed to President Bola Tinubu to sponsor a bill to abolish the HND-degree dichotomy. Dr Benjamin Achiatar, President of APPIN, pointed out that though the National Council on Establishment removed the distinction officially, implementation has been poor, and a legislative backing is needed.

"The bill to back it up was passed at the ninth Senate but was not duly signed into law by the then president. Therefore, a new Bill needs to be sponsored or the previous one revisited by the present 10th National Assembly and sent to President Tinubu for his assent," Achiatar said.

© Prof Hõlå Isååç ☦️