The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has expressed strong disapproval of the new Scheme of Service for Polytechnics in Nigeria, which they say “completely undermines the tertiary education status of Nigeria’s Polytechnics” and “promotes the agelong dichotomy and discrimination against holders of Higher National Diploma certificates.”
ASUP President Shammah S. Kpanja stated that the union collected the new Scheme of Service document from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) on June 19th, calling it a “media show” filled with “condemnable insertions.”
“It is indeed a period of mourning for Nigeria’s Polytechnic System,” Kpanja said. “After a tortuous 7 year review journey following agitations by ASUP, our Polytechnics are left with a burden of contradictions that amplifies the identity crises rocking the sector over the years.”
The union criticized the involvement of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), accusing the office of having “disdain for Nigeria’s Polytechnics and its products” and displaying “poor knowledge of the core demands of a functional tertiary education structure.”
ASUP expressed disappointment that the regulatory bodies celebrated the new document, which they say “will birth confusion in the sector, deepen dichotomy, accelerate brain drain, further reduce students enrollment, ridicule the sector, and further detach our Polytechnics away from the national, regional and global community of tertiary education institutions.”
The union warned that it will not be “blackmailed into an abdication of our responsibility and strategic position as critical stakeholders” and promises to address the media comprehensively on the adverse implications of the new Scheme of Service.