POLYTECHNIC teachers, under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), have given the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum to resolve issues negatively affecting polytechnic education in Nigeria or face industrial action.
Chairman of Yaba College of Technology branch of ASUP, Monday Ojo, who announced the ultimatum at a news conference on Thursday, August 28, in Lagos, on behalf of the President of union, Shammah Kpanja, disclosed that at its emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, ASUP expressed concern over “disturbing developments” threatening the stability of the polytechnic education sector.
Stressing that the Federal Government has not committed to resolution of the issues, Ojo stated: “This has left us with no choice but to issue this ultimatum. Our stand is for the Federal Government to address the issues satisfactorily.
“Key issues raised include non-release of the circular for Peculiar Academic Allowance, unpaid arrears of the 25/35 per cent salary review, and continued discrimination against HND holders.
“ASUP also faulted the delay in the release of the second round of NEEDS Assessment intervention and criticised the Federal Ministry of Education for outsourcing quality assurance activities in polytechnics.”
He also decried the failure of some state governments to implement the new minimum wage and accused the Federal Government of stalling the renegotiation of the ASUP/FGN 2010 Agreement, adding: “Our members are demotivated by unpaid promotion arrears, with some dating back to 2019. This situation is unacceptable and worsening morale in institutions.”
Ojo condemned unlawful disruption of union activities by security agents, expressing disatisfaction with Federal Government’s inability to establish a dedicated polytechnic commission, saying: “If these issues remain unresolved after 21 days, we may have no option but to declare a trade dispute and withdraw our services nationwide.”
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