As Polys and COEs come alive…

As academic activities begin to pick up in the polytechnics and colleges of education nationwide as a result of the suspension of the industrial actions by ASUP and COEASU respectively, AUGUSTINE OKEZIE examines the issues that caused the strike

Announcing the suspension of the 13 month-old strike ASUP President, Dr Chibuzor Asomugha, said all striking lecturers have been directed to resume work with effective from Tuesday.
He said, “Our National Executive Council, NEC, met today (Saturday) and resolved to suspend the strike for three months starting from Tuesday next week.”

Asomugha who said that the strike was suspended for three months explained that the consideration was to allow the new Education Minister, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, time to study their demands and take appropriate action.
He therefore urged students and lecturers without further delay to go back to their classrooms.
He said: “The decision to call off the strike is in consonance with the demand of the present Minister of Education, Alhaji Abrahim Shekarau to allow him study our demands.”

According to the union leader, “All ASUP is asking for is that government makes commitment on when and how the issues will be resolved.’’ He did not state whether the Federal Government has however made any commitment before the suspension of the strike.
On Thursday last week after Shekarau was sworn-in as minister on Wednesday, he met with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP demanded for time to study their demand.

In a related development, the College of Education Academic Staff Union, (COEASU) also announce the suspension of its seven months old strike, coming on the heels of a similar announcement made by the Academic staff union of Polytechnics (ASUP).
The announcement  which was made shortly after the union’s  meeting  with Shekarau, on Thursday, July 17, 2014 also towed the same line of reasoning like ASUP.

It will be recalled that the National President of COEASU, Dr. Emmanuel Asagha, had given an indication that the strike may be suspended in the week while addressing stakeholders in the premises of National Commission on Colleges of Education, NCCE, and Abuja.
The meeting, which was convened at the insistence of Chairman Committee of Council of Chairmen of Federal  Colleges of Education, Senator Emmanuel Anosike, was called as part of effort aimed at resolving the strike.
While reading their resolutions at the end of the meeting senator Anosike said, after reviewing the strike at the meeting, they agreed the strike has been prolonged.

According to a resolution calling off the strike, the leadership of COEASU said the union agreed to call off the strike in principle subject to the following: that there shall be no victimization on the basis of the strike.
“Salaries so withheld be released on bulk, circular on the implementation should be released. Government should set up a technical committee to look into other pending issues”.

There were also issues of salary harmonisation under CONTISS structure as well as disparity in the civil service system, especially between degree programmes and other technical based degrees churned out from the polytechnics and Colleges of Education.
As the lecturers return to the classrooms after a long layoff, not a few Nigerians are asking whether the nation is likely to witness a long relief from incessant industrial actions or  that the gladiators will woefully fail to seize the initiative offered by the reigning truce to negotiate a more permanent solution to the crises

The recommendations of the  Presidential Committee on Needs Assessment of Public Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, headed by director tertiary education, Hajia Hindatu Abdullahi, which among other issues advised government to align workshops in Polytechnics and Colleges of Education  to the national power grid so as to support quality teaching and learning in the institutions ,is one of the areas that must receive prompt attention if sanity and conducive learning environment I s to be encouraged.
The committee, whose terms of reference was to examine the quality of existing academic programmes in the institutions also recommended a constant review of the laws establishing public polytechnics and Colleges of Education.

The curriculum of the polytechnics was also recommended to be regularly reviewed in order to address changes in industries and the demand of the society.
While receiving the report, the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, said that the essence of the submitted report is to enable government identify and provide basic necessary infrastructures in the polytechnics and Colleges of Education.
Wike, also said the report will forwarded to the president and the members of the Federal Executive Council meeting to give room for more contribution and make final decisions on improving standard of teaching and learning in Polytechnics and colleges of education.
He added: “The report submitted by the  committee will be perused and send to the Presidency for final resolutions.”

Hindatu
Hindatu

“But what is important about this report is to identify and know the level of decay in Polytechnics and colleges of education, we did that in the Universities and that  is why the government agreed to spend nothing less than N1.2 trillion naira in the next six  years to reposition the universities”.
“so the federal government will identify what needs to be done, remember it is the approval of Mr President that validates this committee’s recommendations.
Other recommendations includes: recruitment of qualified teachers and training and re-training, provision of essential learning resources and materials.
It also recommended that autonomy should be granted to deserving colleges of education to award degrees in education.
The expectations of Nigerians are high that the new education minister wills act speedily to ensure permanent and more stable academic activities in the various campuses.