Campus Cable

ASUP threatens strike over NBTE’s refusal to negotiate service scheme

July 17, 2024 12:14 pm

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The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) says it will resort to strike if the federal government refuses to negotiate the contentious issues in its recently approved service scheme for the sector.

NAN reports that Iloma Richard, the ASUP Zone D coordinator, said on Tuesday that the document harms polytechnic education.

Earlier, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) approved a new scheme of service to consolidate appointments and promotions in the polytechnic sector.

The scheme was circulated and proposals for amendments of grey areas were submitted to Folasade Yemi-Esan, the head of service of the federation (HoSF).

The NBTE said the scheme would be used as an accreditation instrument in institutions to guarantee regulatory compliance.

It said the scheme would also check the inflow of unqualified staff from universities into the polytechnics.

The NBTE said the reforms in the scheme would ensure that HND holders with good grades will now be appointed graduate assistants.

However, ASUP has been at loggerheads with the NBTE over some of the provisions in the scheme.

It issued a 15-day ultimatum to the NBTE demanding the scheme’s suspension over some provisions it described as “substandard”.

At a conference in Port Harcourt, the zonal coordinator Iloma Richard said the union will resort to strike if the scheme isn’t suspended.

He expressed concern that the NBTE has failed to convene any meeting of stakeholders to address the issues in contention.

The ASUP official said that the union was averse to a provision making the office of the HoSF an approving authority.

He said it is discriminatory to peg the minimum employment requirement for bachelor’s degree holders at second-class lower division while their polytechnic counterparts required upper credits.

“Extension of the cadre progression ranks of lecturers from 7-steps to 9-steps, is alien to any educational sector in the world,” he said.

Richard said that the service scheme differed greatly from the one developed by stakeholders after more than six years of coordinated consultations by NBTE.

He alleged that NBTE continues to engage in activities that could hinder the peaceful resolution of the matter, despite being on the ninth day of the ultimatum.

The union leader listed other contentious issues including an extra year for promoting lectures, non-academic designation for academic staff, and reclassification of technologists as non-academic staff among others.

“It is clear that if allowed, the document will undermine career progression, escalate the existing discriminations, reduce staff morale, and lead to an eventual collapse of polytechnic education,” he said.

“Given this, ASUP’s Zone D, comprising of south-south and south-east states, endorses the national executive council’s call for the suspension and review of all identified areas in the document.

“We shall swiftly mobilise our members in the zone if, at the expiration of the ultimatum, the union directs us to embark on industrial action.”