The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Polytechnic

  • Polytechnic commends Gov Sani on retirement age

    Polytechnic commends Gov Sani on retirement age

    Governor Uba Sani has aligned his education policies with national standards, emphasizing the Human Capital Development focus of his administration.

    In a press statement issued on Sunday, Dr. Mohammed Kabir Abdullahi, the Rector of Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, expressed gratitude to the Governor for raising the retirement age of academic staff at the institution from 60 to 65 years.

    The statement, signed by Abdullahi Ibrahim Shehu, Secretary of Information and Protocol, highlighted that the Governor’s decision was unsurprising given his positive education policies, including the reduction of student registration fees within three months of his inauguration.

    According to the Rector, ‘’these policies mark a significant milestone in improving access to education to the citizens of the state and welfare of the staff of the Polytechnic.’’

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    It will be recalled that Governor Uba Sani has issued an Executive Order on Thursday last week,  which increased the retirement age of the academic staff some Kaduna State-owned tertiary institutions to 65 years, provided they  meet the necessary requirements.

    The decision followed a meeting with the Governor and the management as well as leadership of Academic Unions of all state-owned  tertiary institutions which held on Tuesday last week.

    The press statement promised that Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria, will continue   to support Governor  Uba Sani’s administration and his policies at all times.

    ‘’The Rector also wishes commend the efforts of the Honourable Commissioner for Education Prof. Muhammad Sani Bello, the entire management and the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Nubapoly Chapter,’’ it added.

  • Federal Polytechnic Ede Alumni Association pays tuition for 46 outstanding students

    Federal Polytechnic Ede Alumni Association pays tuition for 46 outstanding students

    In a remarkable gesture of support for academic excellence, the Federal Polytechnic Ede Alumni Association has fully covered the tuition fees of 46 outstanding students at the institution.

    This was one of the highlights of the inauguration of the 7th Governing Council of Federal Polytechnic Ede, which took place on Monday, August 19, 2024.

    The total scholarship amount, N2,077,225, was distributed among the top-performing students, with each science student receiving ₦44,715.50 and each non-science student receiving ₦41,504.50.

    This initiative by the Alumni Association underscores its commitment to fostering educational achievement within the Polytechnic.

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    The cheque presentation was conducted by Professor Taiwo Olaiya, Chairman of the Governing Council, in the presence of the Rector, Engr. Dr. Sani Man Yahaya, alongside management staff and council members.

    Mrs. Adedoyin Balogun, President of the Alumni Association, expressed her gratitude to the Governing Council, the management team, and the entire staff of the institution.

    She reaffirmed the Alumni Association’s commitment to continually supporting the students in their pursuit of academic excellence.

    This was conveyed in a statement released on Thursday, August 22, by Comr. Olatunji Olorunfemi Awokoworldwide, the national publicity secretary for the association.

  • ‘New polytechnic service scheme will marginalise HND holders’

    ‘New polytechnic service scheme will marginalise HND holders’

    The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) Federal Polytechnic Bauchi Chapter has raised concern over the newly introduced Polytechnic Service Scheme.

    The union, citing several contentious issues in the approved scheme, expressed fear that it would further marginalise Higher National Diploma (HND) holders in comparison to their counterparts with university degrees.

    Speaking at an emergency congress at the Senator Ali Wakili Complex, ASUP Secretariat in FPTB yesterday , the union’s acting chairman, Esther  Adebitan, said the discrimination against holders of  HND certificates as against holders of Bachelor’s degrees from universities was further entrenched in the scheme.

    Adebitan stated that the union fully supports the resolution issued by the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), which provides a 15-day ultimatum to suspend the scheme in accordance with existing labor laws, or face an industrial action.

    Her words: “We affirm that polytechnics cannot discriminate against its products in the manner prescribed in this document.

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     “This is evident in the provision of discriminatory entry points into the lecturer cadre for degree holders and HND holders; lowering the career progression bar of holders of HND both in the teaching and non-teaching cadres; discrimination against holders of HND in the appointment of Registrars and Bursars, irrespective of their possession of higher level certificates; classification of technologists as non-teaching staff and so on.”

    She mentioned that having deliberated extensively on the contents of the “controversial document” and after further scrutiny by the Union’s Think Tank Committee, as well as the Council of National, Officers (CNO) of the union, at the 110th meeting of its NEC, “it hereby communicates the following specific findings:

    “The document approved as Scheme of Service for Polytechnics contains significant and fundamental deviations from the document prepared by stakeholders in the sector and coordinated through a series of consultative engagements by the NBTE for over 6 years.

    “The document’s approval route which gave rise to the significant and contentious alterations is legally questionable as the role of the Office of The Head of Civil Service of the Federation as an approving authority is challengeable.”

  • Polytechnic refutes extortion report

    Polytechnic refutes extortion report

    The management of Oduduwa Polytechnic, Lagos, has denied a media report linking one of the lecturers of the institution with extorting a female student and withholding her results.

     According to the report, a student accused a lecturer of the institution of extortion and a deliberate attempt to frustrate her graduation from school.

    While a newspaper reported that the student in question was a student of the Oduduwa Polytechnic, Lagos, the management of the institution refuted the report, saying they neither have the record of the student nor that of the lecturer.

    The Institution in a statement stated that contrary to what was published in the newspaper, “Our institution, Oduduwa Polytechnic had nothing to do with the said story.

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    “We don’t have any record of both the staff and the student in our database.

    “We, therefore, implore the members of the public to disregard the said story as it had nothing to do with our institution.”

    Shedding more light on the report, the management of the institution said, contrary to the report, Oduduwa Polytechnic is in Lagos, not in Ile-Ife, Osun State as reported by the newspaper. “Also, the picture that was used in illustrating the story is that of the Oduduwa Polytechnic, Lagos, while the report said the affected student was a student of Oduduwa Polytechnic, Ile,-Ife, ” the institution said.

  • Polytechnic disowns illegal campus in Abuja

    Polytechnic disowns illegal campus in Abuja

    The management of Novelty Polytechnic, Kishi, Oyo State has distanced itself from some satellite campuses alleged to have been established in some states by an impostor using the name of the polytechnic to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians.

    It urged the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to immediately effect the closure of the illegal outreaches alleged to have been established in Ibadan, Lagos, Niger and Abuja.

    The management of the polytechnic warned Nigerians not to have anything to do with the purported illegal campuses.

    A member of the Governing Board of the polytechnic, Prince Lanre Ogundipe, briefed newsmen during the weekend in Abuja alongside the wife of the Proprietor, Mrs Salami, and another member of the Governing Board, Dr Dele Fanimo on the decision of the management of the polytechnic.

    He said the school has written to all the relevant institutions in the country concerning the matter and that the person, a former staff of the school, who opened the illegal campuses, was in court with the state.

    “A staff member made himself Managing Director and established satellite campuses and collected revenue into his private account. We invited the Police and the matter was charged to court and he was granted bail.

    “We audited our accounts and realized that he embezzled over N50 million and sacked him. He turned round and went to one Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), and said we infringed on his fundamental human rights. We wrote to NBTE but they did not respond,” he said.

    The Novelty Polytechnic was established about three years ago. The dream for the school was birthed by Dr Abdul Ganiyu Salami. The school which started with 83 students now has a population of about 400 students all at National Diploma level.

    Ogundipe, who was a former National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), noted that Novelty Polytechnic, Kishi, was established with the purpose of producing a new generation of Nigerians, well equipped with technical skills for the world of work and contributing meaningfully to the development of the nation.

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    According to him, the polytechnic is a young institution and would never engage in actions against the regulations or compromise the standards set out by the regulatory agency, NBTE which t oversees technical education in Nigeria.

    He said: “NBTE should quickly close down illegal campuses of Novelty Polytechnic. They are not known to us. We have published a disclaimer to that effect.

    “Novelty never applied to NBTE for Satellite campuses outside of Kishi nor does she have any approval to run any, hence we quickly did a public disclaimer on discovering the illegality.

    “We are not an approving authority hence, How could we ever give what we didn’t have. Not only did we not direct the owners of these outfits to close down, we also, reported to NBTE and requested for support to shut down the, Abuja, Suleja, Bida, Mowe, Igando, Ibadan, Lagos, Agege etc, expecting Madiu and his collaborators to be sanctioned.”

    Ogundipe added the petitions flying against the school were calculated attempts to smear the name of the institution.

    He urged the State Security Services to do a proper investigation of the matter and come out with their findings.

  • Govt policies destroying polytechnic education in Nigeria – ASUP chair

    Govt policies destroying polytechnic education in Nigeria – ASUP chair

    The National Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) Anderson Ezeibe has said that some policies of the federal government were destroying polytechnic education in the country.

    While delivering a keynote lecture during at a three-day international conference organised by ASUP, Ikot Osurua campus , Akwa Ibom state on the theme ‘Redefining The Mandate of Polytechnic Education For Economic Diversification And Sustainability’, Ezeibe disclosed that government has tactically killed technological education in Nigeria through unfavourable policies.

    Specifically, Ezeibe listed some of federal government policies working against polytechnic education to include HND/BSc dichotomy, inability to enhance academic continuity for HND graduates, disparity between HND/BSc holders in government circles, among others.

    He lamented a situation where welders were hired  from India for Dangote refinery project at the expense of polytechnic graduates, adding that such attitude encouraged capital flight while homegrown polytechnic manpower wallop in unemployment.

    The ASUP chairman regretted that the mandate of polytechnics education has failed over the years as government has not integrated them into national planning, especially in the nation’s quest for technological development drive.

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    “Negligence of polytechnics mandate has resulted in high level of unemployment, poverty and poor entrepreneurship.

    “Polytechnics education is not encouraged. In some polytechnics, students population is less than 1000 while some state governors change their polytechnics to universities instead of developing it.

    “Government is demarketing polytechnic education through their policies. The law that established Polytechnic education must be reviewed to meet emerging realities in our nation’s technological development. “

    Ezeibe who was a lead discussant at the confab, also urged the federal government to integrate polytechnic education to meet the objective of boosting better quality life in line with the sustainable development goals.

    “Government should migrate away from monolithic economic model through diversification and promote skills education to meet skill need of the nation.”

    He charged all stakeholders in education to work in synergy to mainstream polytechnic education into the nation’s development plan.

    “ This will ensure that government  pays the right attention to funding polytechnics, migrate the tertiary level of certification to Bachelor of Technology with National Diploma retained as a feed for Bachelor of Technology.

    “Reverse the infrastructure deficits, review curriculum and address issue of staff remuneration to retain qualified personnel as well as restore technical colleges as feed for OND programmes across the nation,” he said.

  • Polytechnic workers demand living wage

    Polytechnic workers demand living wage

    The  Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics has demanded a living wage in line with an earlier agreement it reached with the Federal Government.

    The Union made the demand during its sixth quadrennial National Delegate Conference in Abuja.

    In a communique at the end of the conference, its National President, Adebanjo Ogunsipe and Acting National Secretary, Emmanuel Enyiegor, lamented the hardship of its members as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy.

    According to the union, the attendant consequences on the well-being of the worker had continued to be tough.

    “In the same vein, it demanded for a wage award for all workers in the country, as a temporary measure to cushion the negative effects of recent government policies ameliorate the harsh economic realities in the country,” the communique said.

    The union resolved to identify with every decision reached by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in their decision to go on an indefinite industrial action to press home its demands.

    It noted that there was a strong need for labour unions “to unite and collaborate now, more than ever, to save the soul of Nigeria for the good of the majority of Nigerians and the recovery of the labour space in the polity”.

    The union also said there was a need to challenge the Federal Government to re-address the objectives of polytechnic education as a driver for technological development of the country.

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    “In the same vein, it charges workers in the polytechnic sub-sector to delve into innovative research and make inventions in technologies that make life more convenient and bearable for the average Nigerian,” the communique said.

    It charged the relevant authorities to make sincere attempt to understudy the alternatives proposed by labour unions, such as the conversion of petrol-powered vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) -powered ones, the resuscitation of our refineries, the adoption of modular refineries amongst other suggested interventionist options.

    “Council was of the opinion that this would give an assurance of government sincerity of purpose and a confirmation of its genuine resolve to holistically address the situation,” the communique added.

  • Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic debunks reported insecurity

    Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic debunks reported insecurity

    The management of Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Eruwa, Oyo State has refuted reports of insecurity inside the institution by some online platforms. 

    It described the news as misleading and targeted at tarnishing good image of the Institution.

    Students of the institution on Monday protested alleged repeated cases of armed robbery and rape in communities around the school but some blogs reported that the robbery attacks mostly took place within the premises of the Institution.

    A statement by the acting Registrar of the institution, Mr. Oladele Oladipo, urged the public to disregard such misinformation because the incident happened outside the school premises.

    Parts of the statement read: “Eruwa is the host community of the Institution and we can’t ignore the fact that some of our dear students were victims of the occurrences, and the Management of the Institution is not happy about it.”

    “Since the outbreak of the insecurity challenges in the community, the Management held a series of security meetings with relevant stakeholders within the community, including  security personnels and necessary measures have been put in place by concerned authorities, all in a bid to put an end to the menace.”

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    “We should not shy away from the fact that there are insecurity challenges in every part of the country but as management of the institution and in conjunction with relevant community stakeholders, we are putting adequate measures in place (and relating with various government quarters) to put an urgent end to the prevailing challenges. It’s also significant to inform the general public that none of the incidents happened within the premises of the Polytechnic, as the school environment still remains peaceful.”

    “Our decision as management in asking students to proceed on two weeks’ mid-semester break, effective from yesterday Monday 28th August to Monday September 11th, 2023, is to avoid possible misunderstanding between the students and indigenes of the host community. At the same time, we aim to use the period to engage necessary stakeholders in finding lasting solution to the challenge.”

    “We equally use this medium to appreciate the security personnel and all relevant stakeholders within and outside the community who have been actively and positively involved in the fight against insecurity in our area. We also encourage the public to ignore misinformation from agents of fake news.”

  • Polytechnic lecturers to go on strike from December 12

    The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP)  has declared its intention to begin on a nationwide strike from Wednesday, 12th of December,  2018.

    In a phone interview with our Correspondent,  the National President of ASUP,  Usman Dutse said it has become the strike has become imminent  because the Federal Government had failed to meet with the demands of Polytechnics Lecturers.

    The union has given a 21 day ultimatum on the 2nd of October,  2018.

    Dutse said the proposed strike this December would be total and indefinite. The decision was made at the 93rd National Executive Council Meeting at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos last week.

    “Government has failed to implement and fulfill agreements it has reached with the union and contained in the memorandum of Understanding signed,” Dutse stated.

    “The issue of Funding of the Institutions has always been a major concern. The Government over the years have always been breaking their promises. There are other reasons bothering on the roles of the State Government and the National Assembly.

    “The Institutions are not funded. The states are even worse because state governments just establish schools without actually funding those schools, so we don’t have infrastructure in place to aid learning. The Strike we embarked upon was to make sure there was a review on the act on the establishment of Polytechnics in countries” he added

    The President also accused some state governments of owing salaries of their workers up to 14 months, just as institutions victimize union leaders who speak out against  injustice.

    “We hoped that the strike would make the Government look into improving the condition of service and the payment of additional allowances government owed Polytechnics Lecturers” he added

    Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have been on strike for three weeks  over the poor funding of the Federal Universities in the country.

  • Polytechnic lecturers suspend planned strike

    THE Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) has suspended its planned nationwide strike to protest lack of government attention to technical education and implementation of government agreement with its members.

    The union had issued a 21-day ultimatum, threatening to begin an indefinite strike from November 2.

    But in a statement after its National Executive Council meeting, the union said it was suspending the planned strike to give government  ample opportunity to address its demand.

    Its National President, Usman Dutse, said the union was satisfied with steps being taken by the government to address its demands and, therefore, decided to give them the opportunity to concretise efforts being made to  address their demands.

    The statement reads: “Our union had brought to the notice of government the urgent need to attend to the sector that has suffered under the throes of gross under-funding, which has engendered under-growth in all aspects of the polytechnic system.

    “Our union is particularly worried that state institutions are the worse off. Salaries are still owed in many state-owned institutions with some owed up to 10 months arrears, especially in Abia, Adamawa, Benue, Edo, Imo, Kogi, Ondo, Ogun, Osun and Oyo.

    “Managements and Governing Councils have been recalcitrant and persistently trample on union officials in our various chapters by arbitrary suspension and sacking of officials and outright mis-representation in administration of the institutions, non-implementation of the Needs assessment; delay in accenting to the amendment of the Polytechnic Act, victimisation of union officials, withdrawal of allowances and persistent shortfalls in personnel releases to polytechnics as well  as the lethargy shown by government in the renegotiation of the union’s 2010 agreement.

    “These were compounded by the deployment of arm-twisting measures in forcing our members into the IPPIS module without addressing the union’s concerns.

    “This continued neglect and seeming government’s indifference on issues concerning the polytechnic sector led to our union’s 21 days ultimatum, which expired on the October 23, 2018.

    “Following this ultimatum, our union has had engagements with government and its agencies. Particularly worth mentioning was the meeting of October 18, 2018, between our union and the government represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education with representatives from the NBTE and Budget and Planning. At this meeting, government exhibited considerable concerns to prioritise the challenges of the polytechnic sector towards ameliorating them.

    “Rising from the emergency meeting of NEC therefore, the union in consideration of the appeals by the government and commitments to resolving the issues in dispute, resolved to put Its planned industrial action on hold to allow government more time to concretise its promises on our demands.”