Senator Tolu Odebiyi, Federal lawmaker representing Ogun West Senatorial district, has supported a bill seeking to abolish the existing dichotomy between Polytechnic Higher National Diploma and the Bachelor of Science degree awarded by the Nigerian universities.
The bill was originally sponsored by Sen Ayo Akinyelure, but was presented by the Ogun born senator who filled him for him due to his absence during Monday’s plenary.
According to the lawmaker, “the bill seeks to end perceived discrimination against polytechnic graduates and remove the challenges being faced by HND holders, especially those in the public service.”
While supporting the debate for the bill to pass second reading, Senator Odebiyi said research he carried out on both certificates, showed that the discrimination had no moral justification and should be removed.
He said that the unfortunate situation would make the international community to look down on the status of educational institutions in the country.
Senator Tolu Odebiyi also added that the dichotomy witnessed within the nation’s educational sector not only paints a negative outlook for the sector but also limits the opportunity scale of HND holders in the country
