Management Perception of B.Sc Certificate Holders and Their HND Counterparts in the Ghanaian Civil Service
Chapter One
Objective of the study
This study has the following objectives to achieve:
- To ascertain management view of B.Sc and HND certificates in Civil Service.
- to identify the salary grade levels both certificates holders are placed on assumption of duty.
- to determine whether or not differences exist in the course contents / specifications of the courses offered in Nigerian Universities and polytechnics.
- to find out if a B. Sc certificate holder can coordinate activities in the office better than a HND certificate holder.
- to ascertain whether or not there exist differences in career prospects of the HND and B. Sc certificate holders.
- To determine whether due recognition is given to B. Sc certificate than HND certificate in Nigeria Civil Service.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Factors responsible for the discrimination between holders of HND and B. Sc certificates.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF CERTIFICATES IN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING IN NIGERIA.
According to Akinyele, (1992), the historical development of certificates in Nigeria originated during the colonial era. The British, in an effort to train Nigerians who would be capable to handle too manpower / offices found it necessary and important to introduce their educational system. This led to the establishment of Higher College at Yaba between 1932 to 1947, as well as the awards of diplomas. The advent of a university education in Nigeria was later developed when Yaba Higher College was moved to Ibadan in 1947 and began lectures in 1948 on the recommendation of the Elliof commission to be known as University college Ibadan.
In this college, those who passed the intermediate examination as entry requirement after their diploma course were allowed to continue in the college to work for their external degree examinations of the university of London after which they were awarded B. Sc.
Admission into this college was very difficult. As such, critics saw its restrictive admission policies and its offering of classical university education in line with London directives in terms of the proverbial colonial education. As a result, the university of Nigeria Nssukka (UNN) came up in 1960. this means the breaking away from the restrictive access of university education unlike its mentor which practiced 3 – years degree programme after, intermediary examination, UNN introduced the 6-3-3-4 system. This means that every university will be required to mount on 4 years degree programme after which the B. Sc or B A would be awarded.
Although Ugwu (1998) revealed that a polytechnic education came to Nigeria as a prototype institution of higher learning with the adventure of Yaba Higher College, history shows that it did not continue. The moving of the college to Ibadan and its liason with the university of London made the diploma aware not recognized and noticed.
With time, the formulation of educational polices were therefore geared towards the development of a pattern which would transfer the requisite skills. The introduction of those disciplines with vocation and professional courses led to the establishment of instutions for technical education in the 1970s. the aim was to bridge the wide gap of the requirements for the 6-3-3-4 system; hence, the awards of Diplomas and Certificates of Education.
Decree No.1 of 1974 Principal Legal instrument set up National Universities Commission (NUC) while National Board for Technical Education was established by Decree No. 9 of 1977. the former was instituted to coordinate university education whereas the latter was established to cater for technical education. It must be realized that the highest qualification obtainable in the polytechnics is Higher National Diploma (HND) while in the college of Education is Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) whereas in the Universities Bachelor of Science (B. Sc) and Bachelor of Arts (BA) are obtained as first degrees. If one wishes one can go further for higher studies. These aforesaid qualifications are classified or regarded as of equal status and therefore placed on Grade Level 08 on first appointment in the civil service. This is because of their importance and proficiency in their various areas of disciplines.
However, Dick 92000) states that the different certificates obtainable from Higher Institutions of learning in Nigeria are classified thus:
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to examine Management perception of BSc certificate holder and their HND counterparts in the Ghanaian civil service.
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
- Primary source and
- Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in gathering information relevant to Management perception of BSc certificate holder and their HND counterparts in the Ghanaian civil service. Two hundred (200) staffs of Ghanaian civil service was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF DATA
One hundred and sixty (160) questionnaires were distributed and one hundred and forty (133) were returned. This figure was the sample size. Out of the one hundred and thirty-three, only one hundred and twenty (120) were properly responded to. As a result, the researcher used one hundred and twenty for this study when more than 50% of the respondents agree to the questions, the answer is taken as valid for the purpose of this study. In analyzing the data, the approach that will be adopted is to find out the percentage and positive and negative answers to the question posed.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain management perception of B.sc certificate holders and their HND counterparts in Ghanaian civil service. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of management perception of B.sc certificate holders and their HND counterparts in Ghanaian civil service
Summary
This study was on management perception of B.sc certificate holders and their HND counterparts in Ghanaian civil service. Six objectives were raised which included: To ascertain management view of B.Sc and HND certificates in Civil Service, to identify the salary grade levels both certificates holders are placed on assumption of duty, to determine whether or not differences exist in the course contents / specifications of the courses offered in Nigerian Universities and polytechnics, to find out if a B. Sc certificate holder can coordinate activities in the office better than a HND certificate holder, to ascertain whether or not there exist differences in career prospects of the HND and B. Sc certificate holders and to determine whether due recognition is given to B. Sc certificate than HND certificate in Nigeria Civil Service. In line with these objectives, research questions were formulated and answered. The total population for the study is 200 staffs of selected civil service in Ghanaian. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made directors, administrative staffs, senior staffs and junior staff were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
It has been observed that the current perceptions of a difference in the quality of certificates obtained from a University versus a Polytechnic are highly psychological and not a reflection of the ‘purported difference’ in the quality of the university degree or polytechnic diploma holders. Due to the difference in focus, there has to be a distinct difference in the curriculum, teaching style and course content, and the decision on which certificate is better should be derived from individual career aspirations. The society is made of strata and sub strata and should work interrelate to achieve societal objectives. The issue of upgrading polytechnics to degree awarding institution may not likely solve this problem, neglecting them totally through discrimination is what bad also
Recommendation
- There should decrease in socio- psychological disorientation among the holders. There is no basis to compare a B.sc degree to HND. They were meant to service difference segment of the labour market and as such there should be no contest for superiority. This can be achieved through government programmes and policies.
- Application of merit and principle of work efficiency. It will be of a great improvement to our education if Nigerians, I mean employers of labour can based employment, promotion and the likes on-the-job performance than paper certificate. Performance and productivity instead of certificate should be the watch word.
- Government legislation like equal opportunities for all graduates will go along way salvaging this situation.
Reference
- Deitch and Hammed (2010). The Disparity between HND and BSc in Nigeria. Internet.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica (2007). Academic Degrees and their Abbreviations
- Farooq, K. in Weekly Trust (2010). Parity of Esteem between Polytechnicsand University.
- Guest Writer (2008), SOS to the Late President and Commander In Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua: University Degree and HND disparity in Nigeria Civil Service.
- National Policy on Education (2004).Federal Government of Nigeria.Oyedeji (1993), Educational Evaluation. Internet.
- NATEAGM (2009). The removal of Undue Dichotomy and Ceiling Attainable by HND holders in Public Service.
- HABILA, S. (2012) ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES OF DISPARITY BETWEEN HND AND BACHELOR’S DEGREE GRADUATES IN THE LABOUR MARKET – BAUCHI EMPLOYERS’ VIEW.
- An unpublished project work retrievedfrom http://sundayhabila.blogspot.com/2012/05/project-analysis-of-causes-of-disparity.html
CRD (2013), THE PERCEIVED DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HOLDERS OF THE UNIVERSITY DEGREE AND HOLDERS OF THE POLYTECHNIC DIPLOMA, a research work from consultancy and research department of (CIPM) 2013.
- Sunday, J. S. (2014), ASUP STRIKE CLOCKS ONE YEAR-NIGERIA IS EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED. Open letter to Mr. President,retrievedfrom:http://static.pulse.ng/media/28829273830/ASUP%20STRIKE%20CLOCKS%20ONE%20YEAR%20NIGERIA%20IS%20EDUCATIONALLY%20DISADVANTAGED.pdf
- Atomatofa, R.O. (2007): “The Training and Development of Science and Technology Teachers in Nigeria”, A Conference Paper Presented at 1st Annual Conference of the Association for Engineering and Economic Development.