From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has opposed the recent schemes of service for Polytechnics issued by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
Consequently, ASUP has given a 15-day ultimatum starting from July 8, 2024, demanding the immediate suspension of the guidelines’ implementation until necessary amendments are made.
Briefing the press after the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) in Abuja, ASUP’s National President, Mr. Shammah Kpanja, criticised the NBTE’s directives, citing specific sections of the document that he claimed undermine the autonomy and standards of Nigerian polytechnics. Kpanja particularly highlighted the authorisation of the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHSCoF) as responsible for staff employment in the polytechnic, saying that this decision contradicts the processes of the institution.
“Our conviction is that the OHCSoF cannot be preparing or approving a document on career development of staff when she is neither an employer nor regulator,” he noted.
The ASUP leader further objected to the mandatory inclusion of National Skills Qualifications (NSQ) as a prerequisite for academic staff career advancement, labelling it as irrelevant to the delivery of polytechnic curricula.
He also condemned the document for promoting what he described as discriminatory practices favouring university degree holders over Higher National Diploma (HND) holders in the country, noting that such policies set back efforts that have so far been made by the union to bridge that gap.
“Several provisions in the controversial document eroded gains made in our union’s battle against this condemnable act,” Kpanja said, expressing deep concern over the impact on career progression and administrative appointments within polytechnics.
“The contentious document curiously, unjustifiably and unacceptably elongates the career progression steps of the Lecturer cadre from a seven-step to a nine-step career development cadre and at the same time added an extra year for promotion to the final two levels. This implies that anyone on the lecturer cadre will now endure a minimum of 26 tortuous years from the base to the highest level. This is not acceptable particularly in view of the fact that this deviates from the norm in other subsectors and that the retirement age in the sector remains unchanged,” he stated.