Between polytechnic and varsity graduates
Permit me to express
my views as regards
the editorial opinion of The SUN Newspaper of Thursday, July 17, 2008. The opinion was entitled “Parity between HND and degree holders”.
The newspaper saw the action as a welcome development to an extent, with some hindsights which of course were not totally true.
First, I wish to state here that the majority of students who attended polytechnics did not do so because of lower academic qualifications.
The result by which I sat for JAMB and got admitted to read Fine Arts at the University of Port Harcourt in 1982 was the same result by which I gained admission to read Fine and Applied Arts in The Polytechnic, Ibadan. And my going to the polytechnic was on the insistence of one of my brothers who wanted me to do a professional course.
I am today regretting the action not because I am a failure, but because it is difficult to read further after HND. If I had known, I would have opted for the theoretical university course of B.Ed Fine Arts.
Nevertheless, I am equally enjoying the decision because, in all the places I have worked, nobody bothers to ask me for my certificates. My work does the trick for me. Is this a common feature with every university graduate?
The editorial went further to question the competence of teachers in the polytechnics.The abilities of polytechnic teaching staff have often been called to question. I wonder why these lecturers have not reacted to these claims.
Most of the teachers in polytechnics are university graduates. So, if polytechnic products are defective, who should take the blame?
And the newspaper goofed , when it argued that parity was a welcome decision as long as polytechnic products can do the same job and offer the same value as university graduates.
The question is, has the newspaper conducted a research in places where core professionals are employed, and discovered that polytechnic graduates do not measure up to their university counterparts?
No doubt, polytechnic graduates have proved to be competent professionals in their fields of endeavour. They deserve the kind of recognition accorded university graduates.
Then the editorial, possibly written out of sentiments to further tarnish the image of polytechnics, wondered what will be the fate of thousands of secondary school leavers who may be shut out of polytechnics when academic entry qualifications into these institutions are raised.
I wish to suggest here that future discourse on education matters should concentrate on ways of resolving the major problems confronting the education sector rather than finding faults with a justified parity between university and polytechnic graduates.
Olujide Agboola,
G.P.O.Box 4649,
Ibadan.
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