Success in life should
not be determined by
our alma mater. I
believe that everybody
has a chance to be
successful whether
they went to a
university or
polytechnic. Our
success is in our hands.
This write-up is not
meant to degrade HND
holders. I am one of
those that are strongly
against the
discrimination against
HND holders. However,
the reality on ground
(due to the
discrimination) is that
BSc is still more
superior to HND and I
have given reasons
below to state the
obvious but bitter
truth.
1 Entrance
Qualification - The
entrance qualification
to the university is
more stringent than
that to the polytechnic.
The UTME cut off for
universities is higher
than that of
polytechnics. All
universities require a
minimum of 5 credits in
WASSCE/NECO while
most polytechnics
accept 4 credits as
minimum requirement.
It is well accepted that
the entrance
qualification to any
institution says a lot
about the prestige
attached to such
institution.
2 Quality of
Lecturers - You cannot
compare the quality of
lecturers in the
university to that of
the polytechnic. Most
university lecturers are
professors and PhD
holders with decades
of teaching and
research experience to
show for it. Some of
them are universally
renowned professors.
The head of
universities are always
renowned and
experienced academic
professors. Most
Master degree holders
in universities are mere
assistant lecturers.
The same cannot be
said of polytechnics
where most of their
'experienced' lecturers
are mere BSc holders.
Most rectors of
polytechnics are Msc
holders, only a few
have PhD. Even corps
members lecture
polytechnic students.
Has it ever occurred to
you why polytechnics
find it hard to employ
even their own
products (HND holders)
to lecture? Instead,
they employ mostly
university grads to
teach.
3 Research Work-
University is the
bedrock of research
work. Research work
lays the foundation of
advancement and any
sane society will rate
any higher institution
by the quality of their
research.
Unfortunately, the
quality of research
work in Nigerian
universities is poor but
this is still far better
than that of
polytechnics that do
absolutely nothing (or
very negligible research
work).
4 Funding-
Universities are much
more funded than
polytechnics. One of
the metrics for
determining the quality
of an institution is the
level of funding. No
wonder, the
government and the
media pay more
attention to the
demand of ASUU over
ASUP. Thus, you will
expect a product of a
university to be better
trained than that of a
polytechnic.
5 Quality of students
- The brightest,
youngest and most
motivated students go
to the universities. Go
to a polytechnic and
what you will see a lot
of dejected, not-so-
young students who
have written UTME
many times but have
not succeeded. A few
in the polytechnics are
young and bright, but
they are few and far
between. The majority
of young and bright
students, just fresh
from secondary school
are found within the 4
walls of the university.
Thus, most university
grads are of higher
intellectual quality than
their poly counterparts.
6 Size and Beauty of
Campus - A lot can be
said about the quality
of an institution by the
architectural structures
of the institutions.
Let's take the elite
universities and
polytechnics in Nigeria
for instance. One
cannot compare the
architectural edifices in
the prestigious OAU,
UI, ABU, UNN, UNILAG,
UNIBEN to that of
Yabatech, Kadpoly,
Auchi, Bida Poly or any
polytechnic in Nigeria.
No polytechnic in Nigeria
can even compete with
some 2nd and 3rd
generation universities
like FUT Minna, UniJos,
FUTA, etc in terms of
structures.
7 Preference /
Demand - The
preference for BSc is
higher than for OND/
HND. All or almost all
aspiring students wish
to go to the university.
Employers generally
prefer BSc holders over
HND holders. HND
holders are seen as
middle level manpower
(That was the intent
when polytechnics
were initially created).
There are more
opportunities for BSc
holders not just within
the country but outside
Nigeria. Jobs and
scholarship
opportunities abound
for BSc holders and
undergraduates while it
is almost non-existent
for HND holders.
8 Self Esteem - Last
but not the least, an
average BSc holder is
more confident than an
average HND holder.
This is however not
the fault of HND
holders who
unfortunately have to
face stiff
discrimination in the
labour market, thus
negatively impacting on
their self esteem.
