FCT, Abuja-Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, proposed that workers holding Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) undergo compulsory one-year training before transitioning from the Executive to the Officers cadre.
This announcement was made during a virtual interactive session with civil servants to commemorate the 2024 Civil Service Week.
As reported by The Punch, the event’s theme was “Educate an African for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Life-long, Quality and Relevant Learning in Africa.”
NATURENEXgathered that the introduction of the mandatory one-year training program aims to resolve the disparity between HND awarded by polytechnics and degrees from universities, which has been a contentious issue involving the National Universities Commission and the National Board for Technical Education.
In 2021, the 9th National Assembly passed a bill to abolish this dichotomy, but it did not receive assent from President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Consequently, the NBTE, responsible for regulating technical and vocational education, launched a one-year top-up program to help HND holders advance toward earning a bachelor’s degree, The Nigerian Tribune reported.
Addressing a question from a civil servant during the virtual meeting, Yemi-Esan clarified:
“The curricula for HND and B.Sc holders differ, which is why there is a requirement for mandatory one-year training for HND graduates before they can transition to the Officers’ cadre.”
Earlier, Adebayo Hassan, a Grade Level 14 officer, voiced concerns regarding the disparity between B.Sc and HND holders within the Service and questioned the Federal Government’s efforts to address this issue.
In response, the Head of the Civil Service explained that the rapidly changing work environment and the demand for greater efficiency have prompted the Nigerian Civil Service to adopt a Performance Management System (PMS).
Yemi-Esan further stated that PMS Policy and Guidelines have been developed and disseminated to all Ministries, extra-ministerial Departments, and Agencies.
Yemi-Esan highlighted that core implementation teams have been properly established.
She said:
“This new system will evaluate each officer’s performance based solely on their respective Key Performance Indicators and will facilitate the tracking of job objectives across all MDAs.
“This means that every officer in the Service can directly align their goals and objectives with those of their department, their respective Ministry, and the national Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).”
