Degree holders are mere paper tigers, stop this diploma phobia
A graduation event.
What you need to know:
- In many cases, it seems employers have ganged up against diploma and certificate holders.
- It’s sad that this discrimination continues both in public and private sectors.
For a long time, I have watched a trend in workplaces where there is open bias in employment on the basis of academic qualifications.
In Kenya, tertiary training qualifications are at three main levels— degree, diploma and certificate. In some courses, the difference between these achievements is so thin that a degree holder can be bested by a diploma holder in a fair job interview.
But in many cases, it seems employers have ganged up against diploma and certificate holders. Indicating in a job advert that the qualification minimum is a degree is a violation of many diploma holders’ rights.
Let’s take the example of communication and journalism. What makes employers deny diploma holders a chance to compete with their degree counterparts for, say, a news reporter’s job? Ironically, human resources departments will always state in their job adverts that they want people with hands-on training and experience.
From my research, diploma holders have better hands-on training. Are employers looking for papers or potential to deliver? Isn’t this discrimination?
Killing dreams
If productivity and results are your main goals, please let all applicants prove their worth without erecting the “papers wall”.
Experience has shown that diploma holders are better equipped to handle both practical and theoretical aspects of work compared to graduates, who are heavy on theories.
One wonders why most media houses only hire diploma holders to operate cameras, with big disparities in pay scales as compared to their degree counterparts. It’s sad that this discrimination continues both in public and private sectors.
The Public Service Commission of yesteryears was an epitome of fairness. It had embraced equality as its norm and all levels of education were given a chance.
But of late, discrimination seems to be the order of the day after PSC devolved its functions to counties.
This unfairness is killing dreams and costing our economy. Something should be done now.
Daniel studies at Kenya Institute of Mass Communication.
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