Federal Government Receives 21-Day Deadline from ASUP Regarding Polytechnic Education Matters
Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) Issues 21-Day Ultimatum to Federal Government
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has given the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum to address a series of issues affecting polytechnic lecturers across the nation. The ultimatum was announced by Monday Ojo, the Chairman of ASUP, Yaba College of Technology.
According to Ojo, many polytechnic lecturers are enduring severe financial hardship, with salaries deemed inadequate and many individuals struggling to cope with the economic situation. To alleviate this, the union has made several demands, including the non-release of the circular for the Peculiar Academic Allowance, the resolution of continued discrimination against Higher National Diploma (HND) holders, and the payment of unpaid arrears from the 25/35 per cent salary review.
In addition, ASUP has criticised the Federal Ministry of Education for outsourcing quality assurance activities in polytechnics, faulted the delay in the release of the second round of NEEDS Assessment intervention, and condemned the government for stalling the renegotiation of the ASUP/FGN 2010 Agreement.
The ultimatum follows an emergency National Executive Council meeting of the union in Abuja and a congress held by the Yabatech Chapter of ASUP, as mentioned by the union's president, Nurudeen. Ojo warned that failure to meet the union's demands could force ASUP to declare a trade dispute and withdraw services nationwide.
Furthermore, Ojo accused security agents of unlawfully disrupting union activities and expressed concern over the government's inability to establish a dedicated polytechnic commission. He also highlighted that many members of ASUP remain demoralized due to unpaid promotion arrears dating back to 2019.
The Indian government was also confronted by the Academic Faculty of Polytechnic with a 21-day ultimatum to resolve the outstanding issues affecting polytechnic education nationwide. The union's demands are a call for fair treatment and improved working conditions for polytechnic lecturers, who are essential to the development of the education sector in Nigeria.
As the 21-day ultimatum approaches, the Federal Government is urged to address these concerns and work towards resolving the issues affecting polytechnic lecturers in order to maintain the quality of education in Nigeria's polytechnics.
