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Tag: polytechnics

  • Another crisis looms for polytechnics

    Unless the Federal Government moves swiftly to avert the impending strike by polytechnic workers, students may be heading back home soon as the unions in the sector brace up for another round of confrontation with the government.

    The three unions (Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Non Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions (NASU), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) are accusing the government of refusing to honour agreements reached and doing nothing to address the grievances that led to its protracted strike (11 months) which was suspended in July 2014 to enable the Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, settle down and look into the issues.

    The immediate cause of their agitation is the suspension of the payment of the CONTISS (Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Scale) 15.

    A statement signed by the General Secretaries of the three unions, Usman Nda-Umar (ASUP), Monday Jegede (SSANIP) and Peter Adeyemi (NASU) and made available to The Nation in Abuja also wants the government to call the Governing Councils of the federal polytechnic, Oko and Ado Ekiti to order.

    Apart from their anger over the suspension of CONTISS 15, they also accused the government of failing to release the reports of the visitation panel to all federal polytechnics five years after the exercise, and dumping the NEEDS assessment report of polytechnics nine months after the exercise was concluded.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the unions have been drawn to a circular FME/S/66/C.2/11/270 dated 26th January, 2015 emanating from the office of Honourable Minister of Education purported to have suspended the implementation of CONTISS 15 in Polytechnics without recourse to the spirit and letters of agreement with the unions in the sector.

    “Recall that the unions in the sector were on strike throughout the preceding year following the refusal of government to act responsibly and honour agreements signed with the unions. In deference to the then newly appointed minister’s plea for time, and to his strong assurances that the thorny issues would be resolved within three months, the unions resolved to give the government a benefit of the doubt and suspended the strike in July 2014.

    “Unfortunately and sadly, six months after, and despite repeated assurances in several meetings with the Honorable Minister of Education, what we get is the suspension of a statutory salary structure (CONTISS 15) approved by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’dua, which implementation dates back to 2009.

    “Characteristically, we have maintained the highest standards of diligence, patience and due process in our engagement with government and its agencies. But let these virtues not be misconstrued for fragility.

    “We, therefore, call on the minister of education to without delay reverse the purported circular suspending the implementation of CONTISS 15 and cause the Governing Councils and management of Federal Polytechnic, Oko and Ado-Ekiti to reverse their purported proscription of the unions.

    “We strongly caution that our goodwill should not be taken for granted. Failure to reverse this retrogressive and illegitimate directive will leave our unions with no other choice but resort to the last option.”

     

  • Polytechnics union gets exco

    Polytechnic students nationwide gathered at the mini campus stadium of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa (OFFA POLY) in Kwara State to hold their annual convention and election of new leaders.

    The students, under the banner of National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS), participated in 24th convention, which lasted for 72 hours. They accused the outgoing leaders of the association of abuse of office and elongation of tenure.

    Participants moved motion dissolving union leadership, and nomination of members to constitute new executive.

    Three aspirants vied for the presidency of the association. They were Gbenga Adeyeye of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida (BIDA POLY) in Niger State, Lukman Salahudeen of OFFA POLY and Obafemi Olajide, who also came from BIDA POLY.

    Security was provided by riot policemen, officers from Department of State Security (DSS) and men of the Nigerian Service and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

    After the election, chairman of the Convention Planning Committee, Liberty Nwagu, a student of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede (NEKEDE) announced Lukman as the new president, while Ibrahim Seriki, also a student of OFFA POLY, was elected as the General Secretary.

  • The thick forest called Bayelsa Federal Polytechnic

    It was established to be a centre of technical and vocational education. A place where skills, practical skills as against mere academic theories, are passed on to students. Not a few were excited about what the products would contribute to the country’s professional cadres. Great engineers, solid technicians and exemplary hands for the oil and gas sector were expected to be churned out by the Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, Bayelsa State.

    Sadly, the institution has been irresponsibly abandoned. It is now a thick forest. Six years after its establishment, it is on the verge of going moribund.

    The polytechnic was established in 2009 when President Goodluck Jonathan was the Vice-President to specialise in oil and gas studies and other related fields.

    Now, administrative and academic activities are grounded at the school. Vegetation, long shrubs and grass have overgrown many buildings and facilities in the school. Some of the buildings are in disuse and are locked. Money is simply wasting away and no one seems to care.

    Academic, non-academic, senior and junior members of staff are no longer reporting for duty at the polytechnic.

    “The ugly situation has left the students in a very terrible condition in the campus,” a source, who pleaded for anonymity, said.

    “The school clinic is locked up due to the fact that all the drugs have expired. No lectures are going on, there’s no medicare and what have you,” he added.

    There is no security in the institution, a development which has exposed the school to attacks by hoodlums.

    A source told this writer that the school suffers from lack of infrastructure and social amenities. He said the administrative changes carried out in the school during the one-year nationwide strike by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) have made matters worse.

    He said the acting Rector, Emilia Bribena, who was appointed in January, sacked security personnel and cleaners without replacement.

    He said: “Few days after her appointment, she dropped almost all junior members of staff in the school such as security, cleaners and labourers that were taking care of the campus.

    “The school campus was abandoned for several months to the extent that it was like a hunting ground filled with grasses. All the generators were vandalised with some parts stolen.

    “The worst of it all is that the school authority has not shown any care or concern about the lives and the condition of students despite the danger surrounding the students.”

    Something urgent must be done to reverse the ugly trend in the institution. Without this, the objective behind setting it up will remain unachieved. And money will also have been wasted.

    Being a federal institution, the Ministry of Education headed by Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau must move in immediately. All issues raised deserve attention. No stone should be left unturned.

    If any one involved in the management of the institution is found negligent, heads should roll. An institution like this does not derserve to waste away when the oil and gas industry keep requiring local hands to solve some of its challenges.

    The local content law requires the oil and gas operators to reserve some of their contracts for local hands and the operators have always complained about challenges in getting men and women with the right skills to fill the space. So, this is not a time for an institution set up to meet this kind of needs to become a thick forest. This is not only unfair to those who should benefit from the products of the institution, it is also unfair to Nigeria as a country.

    The time to act is now and anything short of this deserves to be described as nothing but irresponsibility on the part of those who should monitor such institutions.

  • Polytechnics alive again

    Polytechnics alive again

    •But the issues that generated the strikes still stalk the tertiary institutions

    Life is gradually returning to polytechnics across the country, following the suspension of the 10 month-long strike called by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP). The strike, which began in October, last year, was called off by the union on July 12 for three months.

    This is good news for polytechnic students nationwide, who had apparently become strike-weary as a result of the long duration of the strike. It is also good news for their parents who would now look forward to resumption of studies by their wards to keep them away from anti-social behaviours. Most importantly, however, the suspension of the strike is a major breakthrough for the new Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau, who is also former governor of Kano State.  ASUP President, Dr. Chibuzor Asomugha, who confirmed the suspension of the strike, said it was in deference to the new minister and the need to allow him settle down to appraise the issues so he could take informed decisions on them.

    ASUP had gone on strike over a series of grievances, including what it calls the appointment of unqualified persons as rectors and provosts of polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education by some state governments, as well as the failure to implement the approved salary packages and the 65-year retirement age for the teachers.  The union also wants the establishment of a National Polytechnics Commission and wants what it perceives as bias in the distribution of budgetary allocation to education sector which gives the universities about N188.4billion (47 percent) out of the N400billion approved in the 2012 budget redressed. The teachers’ demands include the release of the White Paper on the Visitation Panel to Federal Polytechnics as well as commencement of the polytechnics needs assessment.  Only one of these demands concerning the constitution of Governing Councils for the schools has been met

    That the strike was called off after a meeting between the striking lecturers and the minister is instructive. What it tells us is that the problem might have been resolved a long time ago if the minister of state for education, Chief Nyesom Wike, who had been overseeing the ministry since the exit of the former substantive minister of education, Professor Ruquayat Ahmed Rufa’I, last year had been more committed to his work. Wike did not appear keen on seeing an end to the crisis, as he is more involved with dirty politicking in Rivers State where he is nursing the ambition of succeeding the incumbent Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    That such an important ministry as that of education could be left without a substantive minister for this long is a reflection of the importance that the government attaches to education. Indeed, that government could leave the ministry in the hands of an incompetent minister of state who, like Nero, fiddled while Rome burned, is a jigsaw puzzle. For sure, everything must be wrong with a system that allowed the prolonged paralysis that we have witnessed in the education sector in recent time. It does not inspire hope that we are in a hurry to catch up with the rest of the world.

    We can only hope the minister would not betray the trust that ASUP reposed in him.  Successive governments, including the Goodluck Jonathan administration, have the uncanny habit of reneging on agreements they freely entered into with academics, particularly ASUU. This has been a major source of friction between the government and ASUU. We implore Shekarau to remember his promise to the union that “we cannot afford to ignore the polytechnics… We cannot grow without the manpower being produced by the polytechnics”, just as we also admonish the polytechnic teachers to know that a matter like this requires give-and-take. So, both sides must be ready to imbibe that spirit because the polytechnics are the engine room of our technological growth and development.

  • 11-month teachers’ strike keeps polytechnics grounded

    11-month teachers’ strike keeps polytechnics grounded

    The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has been on strike for 11 months.  Students are lamenting the long stay at home. Lecturers are urging them to endure for their own good, reports KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.

    On Tuesday, vice chancellors, rectors, provosts and registrars of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education met with the Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Dibu Ojerinde, in Abuja, to determine the cut-off marks for the 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) written in April/May.

    The meeting signified the start of the admission process for the 2014/2015 academic session. However, polytechnics are in a dilemma. The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has been on strike for the past 11 months.

    The strike which began in April 2013, was suspended in July, and resumed on October 4, 2013. It is still on.

    Many polytechnics have lost a session. Mr Adeyemi Adejolu, Deputy Registrar, Information and Protocol at the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State, said a set of National Diploma (ND) I students admitted for the 2013/2014 session had been unable to resume because of the strike.

    “It has affected normal academic activities. Students admitted for the 2013/2014 session cannot resume. At the time ASUP went on break last July, we rounded up the session and screened new students for admission. But the students admitted have not been able to resume for lectures. We can say we have lost a year. The dilemma we are in right now is that JAMB stakeholders’ committee is meeting today (Tuesday) in Abuja to fix national cutoff. That means we will have another set waiting to come in,” he said.

    Deputy Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, Dr Don Muo, has expressed similar concerns. Urging ASUP to call off the strike, he said the lengthy impasse has stagnated students’ progress and denied them lectures for the required length of time.

    Polytechnic students are also lamenting the strike. Emeka Onwudinjo, National Diploma II student of Mass Communication at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, said the long stay at home was unexpected and has led to some students getting into trouble.

    “The strike has had a terrible effect on students. Students have been involving themselves in criminal acts. A few days ago, one was caught involved in kidnapping. He was paraded in Awka. There is a popular saying that an ideal mind is the devil’s workshop. Assuming the Federal Government negotiated with ASUP and they call off the strike, I don’t think the boy would have found himself in this situation. We did not expect that the strike would be this long,” he said.

    Suliat Abodunrin, a National Diploma (ND) I student of the Federal Polytechnic Offa (FEDPOFFA), told The Nation that but for the four-month Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) that she is currently undergoing, she would have been at home like most of her peers. By now, she said she should have completed her ND programme, like many of her peers in state-owned polytechnics that did not join the strike, but she has been slowed down by the industrial action.

    “I believe they have wasted our time. They (lecturers) should reach a compromise with the government so we can return to school. We don’t want to seem ungrateful because some of their demands will benefit us but they should also think of us,” she said.

    But the ASUP leaders argue that they are indeed thinking of the students in some of their demands. The union, which has tabled 13 demands before the Federal Government, is unsatisfied with the way the negotiations have been handled.

    At a congress at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) last Thursday, the National ASUP President, Dr Chibuzor Asomugha, said the strike would continue until the government addressed the issues.

    He said: “As a union, we are constrained to say that unless urgent steps are taken by President Goodluck Jonathan to address the decadent conditions of Nigeria’s polytechnics today, the nation shall surely be headed for jeopardy. We shall remain resolute and continue with the strike until all the issues put before Government by our union are satisfactorily addressed.”

    The 13 demands of the union include the following: HND/BSc dichotomy; non release of the White Paper on the Visitations to Federal Polytechnics; the refusal of government to fund the implementation of CONTISS 15 migration for the Lower cadres and its arrears as from 2009; non-establishment of a National Polytechnics Commission (NPC) and the continued recognition of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) as a regulatory body for Polytechnics; and the snail pace of the review of the Polytechnic Act by the National Assembly.

    Others are: Under funding of the Polytechnic sub-sector and the discrimination in disbursements of TETfund grants; non re-negotiation of the FGN/ASUP agreement; implementation of Integrated Personnel Payment System (IPPIS) in polytechnics only; poor state of most state owned polytechnics; appointment of unqualified persons as Rectors and Provosts of Polytechnics, Monotechnics and Colleges of Technologies by some state governments; non implementation of the approved salary package (CONPCASS) and 65-year retirement age for their Polytechnics, Monotechnics and College of Technologies; and the Needs Assessment of polytechnics.

    In an interview, Asomugha said the Federal Government has not demonstrated the readiness to end the strike. He complained that the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, rather than resolving the issues, has been complicating matters by contracting himself.

    He said: “We are particularly worried about the disposition and posture of the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, who appears not to have grasped the intricacies of the workings of tertiary education. By his utterances and actions, The Minister has tended to frustrate the resolution process contradicting himself on most pronouncements concerning reasons for the strike.

    “Perplexingly, when the House of Representatives Committee on education convened a stake holders meeting aimed at resolving the strike, the Hon Minister of Education had informed the stakeholders that the CONTISS 15 Migration had been queried by the Salaries Income & Wages Commission and an Inter-Ministerial Committee set up by Government to look into the matter. The Hon minister promised the inclusion of the unions in the Committee which was to submit its report in one week. Surprising the union has not been invited for any of that committee’s meetings.

    “Again when the Senate Committee on Education called for a stakeholders’ meeting on the matter on 24th June, 2014, neither the Minister nor any of the other government agencies honoured the Senate’s invitation. The same Hon Supervising Minister had gone ahead to make arbitrarily appointment of university professors as rectors of polytechnics in wanton breach of extant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

    Asomugha also said the union was dissatisfied with the way the committee set up to address the HND/BSc dichotomy handled the case.

    “A committee was set up but we were not satisfied with their work. We are waiting for them to submit their report so we will raise our own objections,” he said.

    On the appointment of rectors from outside the polytechnic system, Asomugha said many polytechnic lecturers have the requisite qualifications to be made rectors instead of imposing professors from the university system.

    “Don’t we have Ph.D holders in polytechnics? There is no academic qualification called professor. The highest qualification is the PhD and there are many that have it in the polytechnic system,” he said.

    In an interview, Mr Tunji Owoeye, chairman of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti ASUP, claimed that Wike was employing tactics to frustrate the union’s negotiations. He therefore called for Wike’s removal.

    “There is a deadlock now because it seems the minister is using setback tactics. This same minister who said the CONTISS 16 would be paid twice has now gone to the ministry of wages to say that CONTISS 16 is illegal. So, instead of paying arrears now, those who were promoted to CONTISS 15 will be de-migrated,” he said.

    Defending the strike, Owoeye said though students may be affected now, they would be the beneficiaries of one of the key demands, the abolishment of the HND/BSc dichotomy.

    “The strike may be adversely affecting students but we are doing it for their sake. Look at the disparity between HND and BSc Accounting holders. Are you saying they are different from each other? We are urging the Federal Government to do the harmonization and allow polytechnics to offer BTECH degrees,” he said.

    Explaining why the union is against the IPPIS, Owoeye said it would deny them of payment that is rightfully theirs.

    “We don’t want the IPPIS because it centralises the payment system. For instance, if you are on sabbatical in another institution, your salary continues to run. How do they recognize that at the centre? It also affects other contributions like our cooperative etc. We are not civil servants but they want to turn us into civil servants,” he said.

    When contacted, Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant (Media) to the Supervising Minister of Education refused to comment on the crisis.

  • Polytechnics and the dearth of skilled technicians

    This is the fourth article I have written in three months on the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) strike. Today’s article is informed by the discomfort motorists plying Funsho Williams Avenue and the popular Ikorodu Road in Lagos on April 8 when polytechnic students blocked part of the road to drive home their point that the government seems to have forgotten about the strike.

    It is quite sad and unfortunate that polytechnic education is currently passing through this tough and difficult phase. In the last nine months, academic activities at federal and state owned polytechnics have been suspended as a result of the indefinite strike which is in pursuance of a 13-point demand. Unfortunately, everyone seems to be indifferent about the current ASUP strike. Expectedly, the on-going strike has caused severe damages to the already battered polytechnic education system in the country. It is no longer news that the fortune of polytechnic education in the country has been seriously battered.

    Why am I so particular about our polytechnic and vocational education in Nigeria? Let’s look at it this way: A recent World Bank report highlights the danger of the dearth of skilled technicians in Africa. After reading about the report, I had a frank discussion with a senior construction worker a few weeks back and he told me that they are facing a big challenge in the sector. He revealed that those in the construction business would readily attest to the fact that artisans and craftsmen are mostly imported from Togo, Benin Republic and other neighbouring countries.

    Operators of heavy duty equipment, carpentry, plumbing and such other artisanal crafts that provide huge employment opportunities have been largely ignored and our youths shy away from them. It is nothing new that even those who attend polytechnics use it as a ladder to enter universities rather than a place to learn practical education, and that’s a fact.

    Our distorted education policy has over the years allowed our trade schools (remember them?) and technical schools to become almost irrelevant and now polytechnics are on the chopping block. It is obvious that the authorities no longer see the need for vocational education in our country and that perhaps explains why we are churning out certificated illiterates who have no basic skills. Not only have the students lost a complete academic session due to the strike, there are no signs on the horizon that the crisis will be resolved anytime soon. What makes the whole issue disheartening is the fact that even the curriculums in the polytechnics have been skewed so much so that most of them offer courses in social sciences rather than in fields of practical application of knowledge for which they were established. Yet history teaches that no society has ever grown and developed with such a cynical disposition to vocational education.

    It is pertinent to always remind ourselves what the grouse of the polytechnics teachers are. They are concerned about the failure to kick-start the re-negotiation of the FGN/ASUP Agreement which was due for review in July 2012; failure to reconstitute the governing councils of federal polytechnics which were dissolved 16 months ago; refusal to implement the CONTISS 15 Migration for the lower cadres in the polytechnic sector; failure to release the White Paper on the visitations to federal polytechnics more than one year after the exercise; failure to commence a Needs Assessment of polytechnics; and the dismal condition of state-owned polytechnics in the country. Others are the failure of most state governments to implement the approved salary packages (CONPCASS) for the academic staff; their refusal to implement the statutory 65-year retirement age for academic staff; the inclusion of the polytechnics in the IPPIS scheme while the other subsectors in tertiary education are left out of the scheme; and the refusal of the federal government to establish a National Polytechnics Commission.

    In fairness to the federal government, it has met some of these demands, but the fact still remains that neither the authorities nor the society that vocational education is meant to assist places any premium on polytechnic education in our country. That then explains why they would be closed for more than nine months and all hell will not break loose.

    Beyond the strike and despite the envisioned role which Polytechnics are meant to play in the technological progression of the country; it is on record that polytechnic graduates have continued to suffer from the dichotomy created by employers of labour in the country, with government establishments being the most culpable. This dichotomy is reflected in disparity in salary Grade Level, especially in the civil service where Higher National Diploma (HND), holders are employed on Grade Level 07 while degree holders’ entry point is GL 08. Similarly, the HND holder cannot progress further than GL 14 in his/her civil service career.

    This variance in employment opportunity is also evident in other sectors. The various security institutions, for instance, are also guided by this entrenched discrepancy in terms of employment as a university graduate is commissioned into service while HND holders are not. Presently, HND holders who are seeking employment are frustrated because of the tough odds they face in the labour market. According to them, most recruiting firms and organisations prefer university graduates to HND holders.

    Anyone familiar with changing trends in Nigeria will notice that the dilemma polytechnic face today is that it is fast losing – If it has not already lost – its allure. It is extremely difficult to see students who genuinely opt for polytechnic education. Most of those who find themselves in polytechnics are there due to their inability to gain admission into their dream universities.

    Is it any wonder that Parents, who have been victims of the inequality in employment related matters involving HND holders, are not often disposed to allow their other children attend polytechnics. With this perception, it is difficult to see how polytechnic education could really fulfill its goal of turning out competent and resourceful technical personnel that would aid the country’s technological and industrial aspirations. Over the years, the federal government has tried – albeit unsuccessfully – to resolve the BSc/HND dichotomy. Like every other burning issue in the country, the dilemma of polytechnic education, is traceable to weak execution of policies. Recall that the federal government once released a circular that was meant to resolve the issue in government establishments. However, it remains to be seen to what extent authorities involved have translated the content of the circular into action because, till date, government is yet to implement the 2004 Federal Executive Council decision to remove the ceiling placed on the career progression of HND holders in the government employment, I however stand to be corrected if this has been effected.

    So how did we get to this sorry state and why did our polytechnic fall to this abysmal level? In trying to proffer solutions, education analysts have tied the dilemma to our economic downturn over the years. Accordingly, the decline in the activities of the manufacturing sector is partly responsible for the current plight of HND holders in the country. The manufacturing sector, as expected, prefers to employ HND holders because of the belief that they are practical oriented people who could add value in terms of production related matters. Regrettably, the downturn in the economy has led to the shutting down of many industries thereby leaving holders of HND to compete for the few available public sector jobs with university graduates. How do we then begin to retrace our steps given the importance of polytechnics to our anticipated technological take off? First, we must have a credible industrial policy to revamp our dormant industries; in essence, there must be a concerted effort at improving the economy.

    Consequently, all tiers of governments need to provide the needed incentives to resuscitate the moribund industries in the country in order to provide more job opportunities for HND holders and, indeed, all job seekers. Undoubtedly, a functional economy would bring about buoyant and vibrant industries, which would naturally translate into more jobs across board for all.

    Secondly, no matter the number of universities that we have in the country, it is certain that it is not everybody that will have the opportunity of passing through the universities in pursuit of their career aspirations since there are numerous equally coveted courses at the polytechnics. It is also equally important to stress that employment opportunities should be based on the competence and resourcefulness of the individuals concerned rather than the institutions attended. After all, it is not a foregone conclusion that university graduates are better than those from polytechnics.

  • Jonathan intervenes to stop polytechnics strike

    President Goodluck Jonathan last Monday commenced direct intervention to resolve  grey areas in negotiations with  the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), after its leaders rejected the two installmental  payment options.
     
    ASUP President, Mr. Chibuzor Asomugha told The Nation that the Supervising Minister of Education, Barrister Nyesom Wike had comprehensively briefed the President on the remaining area of dispute, which is the installmental payment of arrears of allowances.
     
    Asomugha said in an interview  that Jonathan last Monday met alongside Presidential officials, the Supervising Minister of Education and officials of National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, and National Commission for Colleges of Education, NCCE and Federal Ministry of Education to finally conclude plans on the payment of the said arrears.
     
    ASUP and COEASU have insisted that the Federal Government pay the entire N40billion at once.
    It was gathered that at the last meeting the Supervising Minister of Education in a bid to convince the union showed  the payment schedule for ASUU earned allowances which are being settled in installments.

  • Not yet Uhuru for our polytechnics

    A mild drama ensued, last week Tuesday, at the meeting between the Federal Government (FG) team led by the supervising Minister for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike and officials of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP). The meeting was called by the minister to resolve the issues that have kept our polytechnics under lock and key for seven months.

    In the war of words that ensued, ASUP officials accused the minister of inviting students to the meeting to undermine them, while the minister said the students and the media were invited to know how far government has gone in resolving the lingering crisis. ASUP National President, Dr. Chibuzor Asomugha regretted that government could invite students to a meeting where issues around the strike were to be resolved.

    But the minister had a contrary opinion. Hear him: “There is nothing wrong in inviting the media and seeing the report in the media before the meeting. Inviting the media is not a new thing…”

    As the altercation continued, the minister blurted out: “In most cases, on television I watch you say all sorts of things against the Federal Government and how the Federal Government is insincere and how they do not want Nigerian polytechnics to grow. I think we should respect ourselves.”

    He also advised the union to state the facts, especially when addressing the public as the government was making concerted efforts to strengthen its educational system at all levels. Government, he noted, is identifying grey areas that could be addressed for “all to move forward” by agreeing to pay N20.4 billion arrears of new salary structure to the striking polytechnic lecturers.

    The National President of National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS), Ogbonnaya Sunday, who spoke on behalf of students, had accused ASUP of using them as a negotiating tool with the government. As a result of the altercations, the meeting ended in a deadlock while the woes in our polytechnics continue.

    While I’m not here to start apportioning blame, a couple of questions emanated from this meeting with some key learning curves which I feel need to be addressed.

    Why would the minister invite students and journalists to the meeting? Was the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) present at the negotiations with ASUU last year? Should we ascribe this to the disdain we seem to have developed against polytechnic education? Is it really proper for students to sit in meetings with their lecturers where issues that pertain to their welfare and other policy issues are discussed? Does ASUP members have things to hide by insisting students shouldn’t have been part of the meeting? Is propaganda at play here or is someone seeking cheap publicity for political gain? If the government claims it has released funds to tackle some of the issues that led to the strike, why are the lecturers still grumbling? I will take these questions one after the other.

    The minister said the reason the students were present at the meeting was for them to know what the Federal Government was doing in the education sector. The question I’d like to ask here is this: Would an otherwise responsible union go on strike if the government is doing enough for the sector? Are there no other ways of letting the students know what the government is doing than allowing them sit in a meeting with their lecturers?

    If I were to advise on this issue, I would have subtly told the minister to request for a position paper from the students which can then be tabled and discussed at the meeting. It is condescending for professors and doctors to sit with students they lecture to discuss policy issues which they may not have the temperament or tact to discuss. We all know Nigerian students and their penchant to jump into conclusions before the facts of a matter are fully understood. I think the government goofed here. I will like the NAPS president to elaborate on how his lecturers are using students as “negotiation tool” with the government. This is a sweeping statement that should be backed with facts and not the usual playing to the gallery stance of some Nigerians.

    Was NANS present during negotiations with ASUU? To the best of my knowledge, that was not the case and may likely not come to fruition in the near future. We all read about the long-drawn negotiations between the and ASUU. Even though there were ‘no victor no vanquished’ (apologies to General Yakubu Gowon rtd), Nigerians are smart enough to form their opinion on who won that battle.

    Should we ascribe this to the disdain we seem to have developed against polytechnic education? In the past, I’ve heard people say polytechnic lecturers lack the intellectual and academic depth their university counterparts have. I’m afraid this stereotype has continued to date, whether it is right or wrong. This , I also believe , was the reason for the clamour to transform polytechnics to universities, a clamour which is ongoing. What do I think about this? I have had cause to interact with some polytechnic lecturers and I found them intellectually and academically sound in their chosen fields of study. They are practical men and women who provide practical and workable solutions to issues.

    Does ASUP members have things to hide by insisting students shouldn’t have been part of the meeting? I will leave this forum open for ASUP members to tell Nigerians, in their own words, why they find it condescending for the government to invite students to the meeting. If they fail to give concrete and cogent reasons, Nigerians may jump to the conclusion that they have things to hide and are using the strike option as an arm twist tactics with the government.

    Is propaganda at play here or is someone seeking cheap publicity for political gais? Whether we like it or not, Chief Wike came out of the last ASUU strike bruised and battered as he was taken to the cleaners by ASUU. Some columnists even took to attacking Wike’s personality to drive home their point, especially when he compelled lecturers to resume lectures or be sacked en masse. He was forced to eat his words as the lecturers had their way and the last laugh. The government not only bowed to their pressure, but paid their backlog salaries and will be committing billions of naira to varsities in the next few years.

    Is it that Mr. Wike wants to use the perceived docility of polytechnic lecturers to erase the painful humiliation he suffered in the hands of ASUU? We may never know what is running through the minister’s mind, but we can be assured that he has learnt his lessons. He was castigated by many for issuing threats everyone knew he can never enforce. The way ASUU handled the issue, however, showed that they were only interested in pushing public university system forward and not to engage in unproductive altercations.

    This is the reason he should handle the present crisis with tact and understand that polytechnic education has a fundamental role to play in national development by virtue of their practical orientation.

    The polytechnic system was originally adopted, or should I say, inherited from Britain. However, it is instructive to note that the United Kingdom where we copied the system from- intended it not to be more than intermediate institution to train technologists and middle-level manpower. But in 1992, things changed as the polytechnics were all transformed to universities. Did this resolve the dichotomy? Not quite.

    Today, you hear of terms like “post-1992” university, that is, the year polytechnics were abolished under the Higher Education Act. So, why did the “post-1992” university fail to clear the dichotomy? There seem to be two main reasons. First, the post-1992 universities paved the way for mass higher education. They increased overall student expansion – and in widening participation for students from “middle England,” working-class homes and ethnic minorities.

    But powerful interest groups hate the idea of mass higher education. They believe that a university education should be rationed to the socially privileged and economically successful.

    The second reason is that the upgrading of polytechnics happened when inequality was increasing.

    It went against the grain of what was happening in Britain at that time. Meanwhile, the debate continues. Are there lessons for us to learn here?

     

     

  • UTME holds nationwide, records improvement

    UTME holds nationwide, records improvement

    The third edition of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board for universities polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education held nationwide Saturday with noticeable improvement in the conduct of the examination .

    Our reporter who went round some of the centres in Ojo/Agbara area of Lagos, observed that unlike before, there were adequate provision of materials such as calculators, pencils and erasers in all the centres visited. Also, the data capturing machine which used to experience hiccups, performed impressively high this time around.
    For instance, as at 8.30am , the data capturing machine in Career Comprehensive High School, Cassidy, Okoko, one of the JAMB centres with Centre No 036209, had already captured 439 of the 540 candidates allotted by JAMB to each centre.
    One of the officials who pleaded not to be mentioned said less than ten cases of candidates were yet to be captured as the device had problems identifying their thumbprints.
    Said the official: “We have asked them (yet-to-be-captured candidates) and others that may be subsequently discovered to step aside so that we can conclude the entire capturing session first. After, we will check their names against the register to know if the affected candidates are the rightful owners of their slips or not.”
    There was similar scenario at Augusta College, Iyana Ishashi. The supervisor of the centre with Centre No 036206, Mr Femi Keshinro, said the data capturing machine worked impressively well prompting to examination to commence at 9am.
    However, there was a mild drama in one of the three centres (Faculty of Arts with centre No 36102) within the Lagos State University, Ojo. An official of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, one of the paramilitary bodies deployed by JAMB to provide security for the examination, was caught while trying to send some answers to some supposed candidates in the examination halls through two cell phones.
    A microchip with solutions to Mathematics (Type A), was also found on him. The NSCD officer who identified himself as Kazeem Adewale was caught by the men of the LASU security guards. Adewale initially denied, claiming the phones and microchips were given to him by his boss another female office whom she simply identified as Adesanu. But Adesanu denied the claim outright saying she neither gave the phones, nor the microchips to Adewale.
    The suspect was later handed over to the police deployed from Ojo for the exam.
    The other two centres were- Faculty of Law with Centre No  36109 and Faculty of Management Sciences with Centre No 36010.
    The coordinator of the three centres Prof Sena Bakre who spoke to this reporter, urged JAMB authorities to beam their searchlight more on NSCD officials, fingering them as one of the abettors of examination rackets which are often recorded during JAMB.
    A Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) Bakre said she suspected Adewale’s atrocities probably had the backing of his other colleagues especially his superiors at the centres, adding that since he had been arrested, they became suspiciously more nervous.
    “For me, I no longer find this civil defence people dependable again. They are usually the ones that help many of these students get examinations answers either via cell phones or any other means. I think the authority should do something about this. This people have outlived their usefulness,” she said.