The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has announced that it has yet to begin negotiations with the Federal Government to resolve key issues in the new service scheme.
During a news conference in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, Dr. Iloma Richard, ASUP Zone D Coordinator, expressed concerns that the proposed document could significantly harm polytechnic education in Nigeria.
“Negotiations have not yet commenced with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to address the new service scheme,” Richard said.
According to reports, ASUP had issued a 15-day ultimatum to the NBTE, ending on June 22, to halt the implementation of the disputed scheme or face industrial action.
Richard warned that the union would mobilize its members for a strike if the demands were not met by public polytechnic authorities.
“Since issuing the 15-day ultimatum, the NBTE has failed to organize a single stakeholders’ meeting to discuss the contentious issues,” he stated.
Richard argued that suspending the new service scheme was essential, as some of its provisions did not meet acceptable standards.
The ASUP official criticized a provision in the scheme that designates the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation as an approving authority, calling it discriminatory. He noted that it was unfair to require polytechnic graduates to have upper credit for employment while their university counterparts needed only a second-class lower division.
“The extension of the cadre progression for lecturers from ‘7-steps to 9-steps’ is unprecedented in any educational sector worldwide,” Richard added.
He pointed out that the service scheme deviated significantly from one developed by stakeholders after over six years of consultations with the NBTE.
Other contentious issues highlighted by Richard included an additional year for promoting lecturers, non-academic designations for academic staff, and the reclassification of technologists as non-academic staff.
“If allowed, this document will undermine career progression, exacerbate existing discriminations, lower staff morale, and ultimately lead to the collapse of polytechnic education,” he warned.
ASUP’s Zone D, which includes South-South and South-East states, supports the National Executive Council’s call for the suspension and review of all problematic areas in the document. Richard emphasized that the union would mobilize its members for industrial action if the ultimatum expired without resolution.
Despite being on the ninth day of the ultimatum, Richard noted that the NBTE continued to engage in actions that could hinder a peaceful resolution of the matter.
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