By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo
Students of polytechnics in Nigeria stormed Osogbo, Osun State capital, on Wednesday, protesting against continuous disparity between the Higher National Diploma (HND) and Bachelor’s degree (BSc).
The students, under the aegis of National Association of Polytechnic Students, NAPS, said it was time for President Bola Tinubu to assent to the HND/BSc dichotomy bill to end the imbroglio.
The NAPS Senate President, Temitope Adeniji, while addressing Osun Deputy Governor, who attended to them at the Governor’s office, said the President should, as a matter of urgency, attend to the dichotomy bill and assent to it.
He said, “We are here today to send a signal to our father, President Tinubu, to put in the presidential signature to this bill and end the HND/BSc dichotomy before May 29, 2024.
“We observed that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been assenting to many bills, but the HND/BSC dichotomy act hasn’t been attended to.
“Polytechnic students and graduates are one of the major groups that support this government; we shouldn’t be treated like an outcast in our nation; this HND/Bsc dichotomy has rendered many Polytechnic graduates as second-class citizens, causing a lot of discouragement to the upcoming generation who has the intention to attend Polytechnic in Nigeria.”
After receiving the students’ letter for delivery to Mr President, the Deputy Governor, Kola Adewusi, assured them that their message would be delivered by the Governor at the National Executive Council meeting.
“About your demand, I want to assure you that the governor will table this at the NEC meeting with the President, and our representatives at the National Assembly will also assist in the course, so you have nothing to be afraid of,” he said.
Meanwhile, the students earlier converged at the House of Assembly bearing a large banner with the inscription “Save Polytechnic Education Rally” and tagged “President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Should End HND/BSc Dichotomy Before May 29th, 2024” and various placards bearing “President Asiwaju should assent the bill to abolish HND/BSc dichotomy” and “Asiwaju should put a smile on polytechnic students,” among others.
Source: Vanguard
