Yemisi Izuora
The Federal Government said it has removed the dichotomy between holders of Higher National Diploma and Degree in the Federal Civil Service.
This was disclosed by the Permanent Secretary, Service, Policies and Strategies Office, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Ndubuisi Osuji, at the 40th National Council on Establishment holding in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
Owing to this development, the Federal Government said it has enhanced the entry Salary Grade Level for all category of HND holders in the Federal Civil Service from Level 07 to Grade Level 08.
Osuji said this was in compliance with the decisions reached at the 39th National Council on Establishment.
A statement on Thursday in Abuja by an Assistant Director, Media Relations, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Timothy Akpoli, on behalf of the Director of Communications, quoted Osuji to have said the decisions reached at the 39th NCE were fully implemented through various circulars conveyed to the relevant stakeholders.
He listed some of these decisions to include uniform Scheme of Service for all category of Nurses with the common nomenclature of “Nursing Officers”: Internship for graduate Nurses who do not possess the professional Registered Nurse/Registered Midwife qualification; enhancing entry Salary Grade Level 08 for all category of Higher National Diploma holders; and creation of Assistant Education Officers Cadre SGL 07 – 14 for candidates with the requisite qualification in Special Education.
Osuji also said the meeting would consider a total of 80 memoranda comprising 18 reference cases and 66 new memoranda, submitted by State Governments, Federal Government Agencies and other stakeholders.
In addition, he said the reports and recommendations of both the Standing Committees and Joint National Public Service Negotiating Councils were part of the agenda for the meeting.
According to him, the previous decisions of Council on the creation of new cadres, amendment or elongation of existing cadres, have been collated for inclusion in the on-going review of the Scheme of Service due to be published soon.
This, Osuji noted, would achieve the twin objectives of producing a single reference document for all cadres/professional groups in the Civil Service, as well as reduce the numerous requests for clarifications and interpretation on various establishment decisions of Council.
Osuji urged the participants to bring their wealth of experience to bear during the deliberation, adding that the experiences of the officials have place on them a unique position to evaluate the memoranda and recommend measures that would have positive impact on service delivery, as well as improve the processes and system of operations in the Civil Service.
The Head of Service, Imo State, Callistus Ekenze, in his address said the meeting will signpost a lot of issues and throw up matters that will at the end gladden the mind of workers.
Ekenze called on all participants to give their best and contribute constructively to issues that will be raised.
The NCE is a forum where the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Head of Service of the 36 states of the Federation and Permanent Secretaries (Establishment) meet yearly to deliberate on matters affecting the Civil Service, especially the scheme and conditions of service.