A group, the Forum of Nigerian Polytechnic Alumni Association (FONPAA), has written an open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan on the eight-month strike of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP).
The group said the failure of the Federal Government to end its face-off with the polytechnic teachers indicated the government’s non-chalance to polytechnic education.
In the letter by its National Chairman Emmanuel Ojo and Secretary Olayode Omorayewa, FONPAA accused the government of only showing concern on university education.
It noted that ASUP had been pressing for its 13-point demand before members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) started their strike last year. The ASUU strike ended months ago.
FONPAA said the government did not waste much time before it resolved ASUU’s strike while it ignored the polytechnics.
The group noted that polytechnic education would enhance national development.
The letter reads: “We have on several occasions called the attention of the government to the importance of the two education systems. We again wish to reiterate that the two institutions play complementary roles in enhancing national development.
“While university education is theoretically-oriented, polytechnic education is technologically-biased. For any country to be developed, it has to be technologically determined.
“This is the more reason why polytechnic education has to be handled with all sensitivities in Nigeria. As the roles of the two education models are complimentary, the discrimination and disparity between the two certificates are unwarranted.
“Apart from the importance of polytechnic education, as indicated above, the government should also note that the lives of hundreds of thousands of polytechnic students are in jeopardy. For over eight months now, polytechnic students have been away from school. The devil finds job for the idle hands.”
The alumni forum, urged the government to resolve the dichotomy between polytechnic and university graduates.
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