Nigerian Government takes new stand on HND certificate vs B.Sc

Voice Air Media, News Update

THE Federal Government of Nigeria has said workers in the civil service who are holders of the Higher National Diploma (HND), in the country must undergo one-year mandatory training before their conversion from Executive to Officers cadre.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, disclosed this on Saturday, June 22, 2024, at a virtual interactive session with civil servants in commemoration of the 2024 Civil Service Week.

The programe with the theme, “Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Life-long, Quality and Relevant Learning in Africa,” concluded that the one-year mandatory training programme is to bridge the gap between polytechnic HND certificates and university degrees which has been controversial between the National Universities Commission and the National Board for Technical Education.

A bill was passed at the Ninth National Assembly in 2021 to end the dichotomy but was not signed into law by the last administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Thus, NBTE, which regulates technical and vocational education, had to introduce what it describes as a one-year top-up programme which offers a platform for HND holders to level up towards obtaining a bachelor’s degree.

While fielding a question from one of the civil servants during the virtual meeting, Yemi-Esan, said, “The curriculum for HND and B.Sc holders were not the same, hence, HND graduates would have to undergo mandatory one-year training before conversion from Executive to Officers’ cadre.”

Adebayo Hassan in Grade Level 14 had earlier asked about the dichotomy between B.Sc and HND holders in the Service and what the Federal Government was doing to bridge the gap.

Speaking on the 2024 Civil Service Week theme, Yemi-Esan emphasised the need for education to be accessible, inclusive and of high quality, while highlighting the need for it to constantly remain relevant to the rapidly evolving demands of the modern world.

According to her, “The theme also speaks to how the Nigerian Civil Service is leveraging learning and development to enhance the capacity and capability of its workforce with a view to delivering on national priorities.”

The Head of the Civil Service disclosed that the rapidly changing work environment as well as demands for greater efficiency have necessitated the adoption of a Performance Management System by the Nigerian Civil Service, adding that PMS Policy and Guidelines have been developed and circulated to all Ministries, extra-ministerial Departments and Agencies.

In this regard, performance contracts are to be further cascaded down to the last officer in each MDA.

“This new system will assess each officer’s performance solely based on their respective Key Performance Indicators and it will enable tracking of job objectives across all MDAs.

By implication, each officer across the Service can clearly link his goals and objectives with those of his department, those of the respective Ministry and the national KPIs.

She described the digitalisation of work processes in the Service as another reference point in the ongoing transformation of the Federal Civil Service.

She further stressed that the Office has fully digitalised all personal and policy files and is implementing digital transaction workflow processes, as all official correspondences, in the form of memos and internal and external circulars, are now being processed electronically through the Enterprise Content Management solution.

(PUNCH)