A qualification of the same title is also offered in Argentina,[2] Brunei,[3] Cameroon,[4] India, Malta,[5] Nigeria,[6] Ghana, Kenya, and some other countries.
[10] In Nigeria, HND is a continuation of a National Diploma (ND-[equivalent to associate degree]) programme, both offered by polytechnics.
Although, there have existed a long-standing disagreement over the "equivalence" of Polytechnic HND degree to University bachelor's degree; employers of labour (including the government and its policies) have discriminated against HND holders—grading them below their university counterparts and preventing them from attaining managerial or directorate cadres.
[14][15] Some have even claimed that the HND graduates are better than their university counterparts in the same field, arguing that they write the same entrance exams to seek admission to their course/program of study (the JAMB exams to secure an admission), they both spend the same number of years studying, both completing 120 college credit units with HND holders concentrating more on technicalities, sometimes taking more than 120 credit units and getting more hands on .
In Cameroon, The Higher National Diploma is a two-year professional university program which originated in the United Kingdom.