FG abolishes degree/HND dichotomy in civil defence, immigration, others

The Federal Government has abolished the dichotomy between holders of Bachelor’s degree and those with Higher National Diploma (HND) in all the services under the ministry of interior.

The agencies affected are the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Prisons Service and Federal Fire Service.

Before now, personnel with HND certificates are employed

into the Inspectorate cadre while their colleagues with Bachelor’s degree certificate are in the superintendent cadre.

However, with this new policy, the HND holders will now be moved from the Inspectorate cadre to superintendent cadre without obtaining any degree certificates as the case was before now.

Confirming this development in a statement yesterday, the secretary to the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CDFIPB), Al-Hassan Yakmut, said the approval was given after the board’s meeting on 9th and 10th on this month.

“The board has constituted a technical committee to work out modalities for the implementation, including the harmonisation of ranks in accordance with the abolition,” he said.

This is coming just over a year after the board upgraded the entry point for HND holders into the Services from Grade Level 7 to Grade Level 8 just like the Bachelor’s Degree holders.

From left: British High Commission’s Deputy Head of Political Section, Stuart Gardner; Former Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume; British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catherine Laing; and former Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on NDDC, Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, during a visit to the British High Commission in Abuja yesterday for a discussion on issues relating to the North-East