POLYTECHNIC lecturers in Nigeria have flayed a “contentious document” titled “Scheme of Service for Polytechnics by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), alleging that it lacked inclusive stakeholder input, particularly from their union and stakeholders in the polytechnic sector. The aggrieved lecturers issued a 15-day ultimatum to the Federal Government effective July 8, 2024, to suspend the implementation of “the rough work called “Scheme of Service for the Polytechnics” or face diverse forms of industrial action by our Union.
While addressing a press conference in Kaduna, the Zonal Coordinator, Zone A of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Dr. Abdulazeez Ibrahim Badaru, said it has become imperative to address critical concerns regarding the newly released Scheme of Service (SOS) for Polytechnics.
” These observations and reservations were meticulously discussed during the 110th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of ASUP on July 4, 2024, as well as the Zonal Executive Officers of our Zone of the Union on the 10th July 2024.”
The Polytechnic lecturers observed and resolved that ” the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) released a document titled “Scheme of Service for Polytechnics” which lacks inclusive stakeholder input, particularly from our union and stakeholders in the polytechnic sector. It diverges significantly from a previously prepared document following extensive consultations and engagements that started since 2012, is seen as an intentional move by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the NBTE to sow discord within the polytechnic sector.”
They said the current document is opposed unless all points of contention are addressed.
“The importation of sub-tertiary level qualifications, such as the National Skills Qualifications (NSQ), as obligatory prerequisites for the career advancement of academic staff within the polytechnic is deemed laughable. The NSQ lacks substantive value in enhancing the delivery of curricula at the tertiary level in polytechnics, serving as an undue burden without corresponding professional development. Consequently, we vehemently reject its inclusion as a mandatory criterion for academic staff career advancement.”
“There is a concerning inconsistency in the entry points for Graduate Assistants, with the NBTE document lowering the bar for Bachelor degree holders while disadvantaging HND holders. Equivalent grades (e.g., Second Class Lower: Lower Credit) should be required at the Graduate Assistant level to ensure fairness. 4. The splitting of the Senior Lecturer level into Senior Lecturer II and Senior Lecturer 1
will create unnecessary complexities and further lengthen the lecturer cadre structure.” “We demand a return to the status quo and a reduction of the lecturer cadre from a 9-step to a 7 -step structure, with a maximum three-year waiting period for progression between steps. The current document’s structure would necessitate a minimum of 26 years for a Graduate Assistant to reach the peak of their career, which is impractical, and demotivating compared to the progression of lecturers in the universities and the colleges of education with a minimum of 18 and 20 years respectively to reach the peak of their career among others.”
