The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has vowed to go on indefinite strike over the alleged imposition of a defective Scheme of Service for Polythenics by the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE). ASUP emphasised that the document was flawed and problematic, and issued NBTE a 15-day deadline to examine the entire text, which does not encourage the growth of polytechnic education in the country.
The ASUP’s Zone D, which includes polytechnics in the South South and South East, made this decision at a meeting on Tuesday at Captain Elechi Amadi Polythenics in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
At the end of the meeting, Comrade Dr. Iloma Richard, Zonal Coordinator of ASUP Zone D, told reporters that the Scheme of Service for Polytechnics provided by NBTE contained major departures from the expectations of Polytechnic stakeholders and staff members. Richard noted that NBTE was making every effort to impose the aforementioned flawed document on the sector, and that the board had neglected to schedule stakeholder meetings to discuss areas of concern regarding the paper.
He specifically highlighted that the Scheme of Service as announced by NBTE included a sub-tertiary educational level certificate known as National Skills certificate (NQS) as an obligatory requirement for promotion of academic staff members.
He went on to say that the document included a discriminatory reduction of the entrance point for graduate assistant employment to the benefit of B.Sc holders, as well as an unnecessary separation of the senior professor cadre into one and two. He stated that the document is detrimental to the advancement of Polytechnics staff members and will result in the collapse of Polythenics education in Nigeria, and he called for the Scheme’s implementation to be halted immediately.
He stated: “After a careful review and scrutiny of the highly anticipated document by our union with great enthusiasm from our members, it was unfortunately found wanting because several aspects of the document contained fundamental deviations from the draft outcome of previously held stakeholders’ engagements.
“These strange insertions are not only repugnant, but also highly discriminatory, and thus unacceptable.”
“In light of the foregoing, the Zone D of our union, which includes all states in South-South and South-East Nigeria, strongly supports the position of the Union’s National Executive Council (NEC) in requesting the immediate suspension of implementation of all identified areas of contention for review, as well as the initiation of a review process through stakeholder engagement.” “The Union’s position has been carefully expressed by our national leadership and formally submitted to all relevant authorities, with a 15-day ultimatum effective July 8th-22nd, 2024.
“We will fully and rapidly mobilise our members from all Chapters in the Zone if the NEC orders any form of industrial action after the deadline expires and the regulating authority fails to act. The nation should consequently hold the NBTE accountable for any such breakdown of industrial harmony in our institutions.”
However, Ex-Officio and Immediate Past National President of ASUP, Comrade Anderson Ezeibe, regretfully revealed that stakeholder inputs into the plan of service were removed. He stated, “Stakeholders rejected the document between 2018 and 2021.” The document was discarded, and what emerged was different. So we’ve all rejected the document and are pretty adamant about it.
