Lecturers in public-owned polytechnics have issued the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum to address long-standing demands or face a total withdrawal of services nationwide.
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) said delays in granting polytechnics a dual mandate structure to award Bachelor of Technology degrees, aimed at ending discrimination against Higher National Diploma (HND) holders, threaten the survival of polytechnic education in Nigeria.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday after the union’s National Executive Council meeting, ASUP President Shammah S. Kpanja listed 14 unresolved issues, including the reconstitution of a committee to renegotiate the ASUP/FGN 2010 Agreement, domestication of the Federal Polytechnics Act by states, and reconvening of the Special Rapid Response Committee to address industrial disputes in the sector.
Other grievances include the non-release of a circular by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) covering Peculiar Academic Allowances, non-payment of arrears from the 25/35 percent salary review, and failure to implement the new national minimum wage in some state-owned polytechnics.
ASUP also faulted the delay in releasing the second phase of the NEEDS Assessment intervention and criticized the National Board for Technical Education’s policy on outsourcing quality assurance activities in polytechnics.
Kpanja warned that failure to meet the union’s demands within the ultimatum could lead to the declaration of a trade dispute and the withdrawal of services in all public polytechnics and monotechnics nationwide.
