B.Sc, HND dichotomy a deadly disease

The dichotomy between the HND and B.Sc holders is a menace and will forever be counterproductive to education advancement of this country.
The HND and B.Sc certificates are acquired after passing through the polytechnic and university education respectively. But instead of concentrating on the competency of the certificate holders, the focus is shifted to the title.
In order for this nation to move forward, the issue of having a HND or B.Sc should be totally erased from our mentality and competency should be the crux of the matter- how and what an individual can contribute to the society and not the paper he holds.
In Nigeria, we celebrate certificate while developed countries celebrate innovation which has placed them above others. Therefore, for us as a nation to achieve same, we must put aside every elements of disparity. Employment should be on the basis of the wealth of experience and capacity of individual and not the class of their certificate.
It is also interesting to note that even in public parastatals this issue is the order of the day and the gap has not been bridged. It is expected that the federal and state governments would not be partial but it’s not so as HND holders would never progress beyond grade level 14 because of the type of certificate they have.
I think the ongoing discrimination against polytechnic graduates should be addressed to achieve the demands of the 21st century.
Despite employers’ complaints that graduates nowadays are poorly prepared for work, and the academic standards has fallen drastically over the past decade, polytechnic graduates are more on the receiving end as they are hardly given a chance or offered a level playing ground with their counterparts from the university to prove themselves.
Even in the polytechnic, work system which is supposed to protect the interest and integrity of its graduates is also an issue. A B.Sc holder can become a lecturer, head of schools and even rector, while the HND holders are called instructors instead of lecturers and they cannot attain any of these positions except they get additional qualifications from the university.
Thomas is a HND 2 Mass Communication, Federal Polytechnic, Bidi