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The National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Bill to eliminate the dichotomy between those who earn a university degree (Bsc) and those who hold a Higher National Diploma (HND) before he leaves office on May 29, 2023.
In a press release issued on Monday, NAPS Deputy Senate President Adeniji Temitope stated that Nigerian polytechnic students and alumni suffer challenges related to the dichotomy.
He stated that NAPS would shut down all polytechnics, colleges of technology, and allied institutions that award HND across Nigeria if Buhari doesn’t assent to the HND/BSc dichotomy bill in the next 14 days.
According to him, they would also take their protest to they would “occupy the Presidential Villa in Abuja and continue to cry until Buhari assents to the bill.
Adeniji, noted that individuals involved in the polytechnic education field pleaded with the Ninth National Assembly to approve the “Bill for an Act to Abolish and Prohibit Dichotomy and Discrimination between First Degree and Higher National Diploma.”
In 2021, the Senate passed the bill seeking to abolish the dichotomy between the HND certificate and the university degree holders in the country.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Ayo Akinyelure, passed its third reading on the Senate floor and in November 2021, both chambers of the National Assembly had passed the bill.
In response, NAPS lauded the development saying the Ninth National Assembly had done a very good job by passing the Bill but the President’s assent to make it a law was necessary.
“The Senate arm of NAPS through the Office of Deputy Senate President has agreed on shutting down all polytechnics, colleges of technology, and allied institutions that award HND across Nigeria if Buhari doesn’t assent to the HND/BSc dichotomy bill in the next 14 days,” the statement said.
The student body alleged that although Buhari had been signing numerous measures, the HND/BSc dichotomy bill had not been included. They vowed to “occupy the Presidential Villa in Abuja and continue to cry until Buhari assents to the bill.”
“Polytechnic students and graduates are one of the major persons that supported and sustained the regime of the President. We shouldn’t be treated like an outcast in our nation.
“Buhari should stop the HND/BSc dichotomy now and make it one of his major achievements,” the statement noted.
