Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, the Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF), has commented on the ongoing debate regarding the distinction between Higher National Diploma (HND) and university’s degree qualifications within the civil service.
Yemi-Esan clarified that the curriculum for HND and B.Sc programs are not identical, which influences their treatment within the civil service.
Responding to questions from Ayodele Hassan, a level 14 civil servant, Yemi-Esan explained, “HND graduates must undergo a mandatory one-year training before they can be promoted from the Executive to Officer cadre.”
Her comments were made during a virtual meeting with civil servants, part of the 2024 Civil Service Week celebrations. The theme of this year’s event was “Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality, and Relevant Learning,” held in Abuja.
Yemi-Esan highlighted the necessity of adopting a Performance Management System (PMS) in response to the evolving work environment and the demand for increased efficiency. She noted that the PMS Policy and Guidelines have been distributed to all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), with core teams established to ensure its implementation.
“The implementation of PMS has been delegated to the Ministries, with Permanent Secretaries acting as the primary drivers,” Yemi-Esan stated. “Performance contracts will be extended to every officer within each MDA.”
She further explained that the new system will evaluate each officer’s performance based on specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), allowing for the tracking of job objectives across all MDAs.
“This system ensures that each officer can align their individual goals with those of their department, their Ministry, and the national KPIs,” she added.
Yemi-Esan also pointed to the digitalization of work processes as a significant milestone in the Federal Civil Service’s ongoing transformation.