The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has given the Federal Government 21 days to address a series of unresolved demands or risk a nationwide industrial action.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday after the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, ASUP President, Shammah S. Kpanja, accused the government of prolonged neglect of polytechnic education, saying the sector has suffered “long years of setbacks” due to poor attention.
Kpanja noted that the union’s demands include the immediate approval of a dual mandate structure for polytechnics to eliminate “age-long discrimination” against Higher National Diploma (HND) holders, and the speedy passage of a bill enabling polytechnics to award Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degrees.
“In view of the items listed above and the non-committal disposition of the Federal Ministry of Education in committing to genuine dialogue and lack of will to execute previous resolutions on some of the items, our Union’s NEC has resolved to issue a 21 days ultimatum to the government to address the issues satisfactorily,” Kpanja said.
“Failure to utilize this window may lead to the declaration of a trade dispute and withdrawal of services of our members across public Polytechnics and Monotechnics nationwide.”
ASUP listed 14 unresolved issues, among them:
- Reconstitution of a committee to renegotiate the ASUP/FGN 2010 Agreement.
- Non-domestication of key provisions of the Federal Polytechnics Act by state governments.
- Refusal of the Federal Ministry of Education to reconvene the Special Rapid Response Committee on industrial relations challenges.
- Non-release of a circular by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) to cover Peculiar Academic Allowance for polytechnic staff, despite its inclusion in the ASUP/FGN 2010 Agreement.
- Removal of the allowance from the federal budgeting template without explanation.
- Failure to release arrears from the 25/35 percent salary review and to implement it in state-owned polytechnics.
- Failure of some states to implement the New National Minimum Wage.
- Delay in releasing the second tranche of the approved NEEDS Assessment intervention and failure to review the first tranche’s utilization.
- Concerns over the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) outsourcing quality assurance activities in polytechnics.
Kpanja said the union is particularly worried about the government’s lack of commitment to setting up a dedicated commission to oversee polytechnic education and its continued delay in addressing critical welfare and operational issues.
He warned that if the Federal Government fails to act within the 21-day window, ASUP will have “no choice but to declare a trade dispute” and commence a total withdrawal of services nationwide.
