UPDATED: No Discrimination Against HND Holders As Senate Passes Law

On Wednesday, the Senate passed a bill prohibiting job and promotion discrimination against first-degree and Higher National Diploma (HND) holders in the country.

Senator Ayo Akinyelure sponsored the bill, which passed its third reading during the plenary session on Wednesday.

Senator Ibrahim Shekerau, the Chairman of the Joint Committee that worked on the bill, stated that the bill will release HND holders from stagnation and assure equal treatment with their counterparts from other Nigerian higher tertiary institutions.

He went on to say that eliminating the existing divide between HND holders and university graduates would help Nigerians meet their massive manpower needs, ensure social justice and better corporate governance, and encourage patriotic contributions among HND employees in both the public and private sectors.

Senator Ibrahim Shekarau had previously requested that the Senate receive and consider the Joint Committee on Establishment and Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND report on the Prohibition of Discrimination between First Degrees and Higher National Diplomas Bill, 2021. (SB.297).

Senator Sadiq Umar seconded the motion, and the Senate was dissolved into a Committee of the Whole to consider it.

Clauses 1-6 of the bill were then discussed and adopted by the Senate in the Committee of the Whole and Plenary.

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In May of this year, the House of Representatives passed its own version of the bill.

While praising the House, Senate President Ahmed Lawan stated that the bill had been in the works for a long time.