Reps pass bill seeking to abolish HND/BSc dichotomy through second reading

Members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously expressed support for a bill seeking to abolish the dichotomy between Higher National Diploma (HND) and Bachelor Degree holders in Nigeria.

 

The private member bill was jointly sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Chairman, House Committee on Federal Polytechnics and other Technical Education, Hon. Fuad Laguda.

 

According to the sponsors of the bill, it seeks to amend the Federal Polytechnics Act, Cap. F17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to, among other things, review the Functions of the Polytechnics and for related matters.

 

In his lead debate, Hon. Laguda stated that the proposed legislation seeks the establishment of Polytechnics nationwide to drive the development of technical education in polytechnics in Nigeria.

 

According to him, the bill also seeks to promote the powers of educational boards and include representation from the Nigerian Technical Board, among other things.

 

The Presiding Speaker, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas stated that the spirit of the bill is apt as it seeks to among other things abolish the long standing BSc./HND dichotomy by replacing HND with a B.Tech degree in order for such graduates to compete favorably with those from the Universities.

 

The bill was voted on, approved for second reading and referred to the House Committee on Polytechnics and other Higher Education.

 

Also at plenary, the lawmakers passed through Second Reading a bill seeking to provide for the establishment and the functions of Legislative Security Directorate in the National Assembly, provide for the Qualification and Condition of Service of the Sergeant–At–Arms and other Personnel of the Directorate and for related matters.

 

The private member bill was sponsored by Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Rotimi Akintunde.