Media Career Q&A
Q: With my certificate from the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ), can I be accepted to work in any organisation without discrimination?
A: The Higher National Diploma (HND) certificate issued by the NIJ is supposed to be an equivalent of the University degree, but many private organisations and the government don’t rate them equally.
Salary scale for HND graduates in the civil service is a grade lower, while some private organisations rate it much lower or don’t employ polytechnic graduates.
There are however companies where the starting salary scale for all graduates is the same and all employees are given equal chances to distinguish themselves and earn what they are truly worth.
The answer to your question is that you can be discriminated against in some organisations and government service based on your NIJ certificate, just like any other polytechnic graduate. You are not likely to be paid same salary like your mates who have University degrees.
There used to be media houses who don’t hire polytechnic graduates for reasons best known to them. Hopefully they might have changed their policy.
Notwithstanding the discrimination, the onus is on you to prove that you are not a lesser graduate compared with degree holders when you get a chance to do so.
In my years of being involved in hiring of journalists, I have seen Ordinary National Diploma graduates who are better than Masters degree holders, just as I know polytechnic graduates who don’t have any clue about being a journalist.
What you are able to accomplish while studying and after graduation will go a long way in helping you to overcome the discrimination against diploma holders.
I know an NIJ graduate who would not have been qualified to be admitted for a post graduate degree in Nigeria who has graduated with a Masters degree from Columbia University in the United States.
To overcome the discrimination against having an HND certificate, I know people who have had to enroll afresh for University degrees.
Too bad polytechnic graduates are discriminated against, but with the nature of the media profession, your skill will stand you out, especially when you don’t have to seek employment or you are rated on your performance when you get a chance to be employed.
Over the years, even before NIJ got accredited for HND, graduates of the institution have excelled in the media industry and any present student should not be discouraged by the discrimination against diploma holders but be determined to become an outstanding media professional.
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