The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to implement its 13 demands that led to an earlier strike which lasted 10 months or face another industrial action, elapses today. MOSES JOHN takes a look at the contentious issues and the need to strengthen the technical education in Nigeria.
The Polytechnic Union under Academic Staff Union of Polytechniocs (ASUP) begin another round of strike nationwide over government inability to keep to its words during the last strike which lasted 10 months plus.
Watchers are of the opinion that government must more responsive towards the actualisation of vision 2020. They however said government must do more encourage technical education which is a vehicle to growth and development.
The reasons the union went on strike two years ago is still unattended to and they believed the benevolent approach to issues concerning the welfare of their members and the growth of the sector is generally seen as cowardice.
This principle, according to ASUP has further sustained their guided resolve to be diplomatic in approach to issues and to always create the necessary benefit of doubt in all engagements until they have been proved wrong and pushed beyond the limits of patience and endurance.
President of ASUP, Comrade Chibozor Asumogha said it is the union firm belief that the place of technical education has become a key driver of every sustainable growth and development. Also it is also their keen observation that more countries of the world are developing the technical sector in order to achieve technological growth and discoveries.
That is why, he said throughout the world, and in particular the progressive economies of sub-Saharan Africa, governments are renewing efforts to promote technical education and training with the sole belief that skill formation enhances productivity and sustains competitiveness in the global economy.
The thrust of this development has been the major concern of ASUP, according to him, and is also the reason for their constant resolved that government must make adequate commitment in promoting the growth the sector if it is to provide the much needed technological result.
The Issues of contentions
Comrade Asumogha further said in 2012 ASUP placed a 13 point demand portfolio before Government for negotiation and subsequent implementation.
He said most of these demands were carryover from the 2009 Agreement between the Federal Government and the union, adding the failure of government to attend to these demands led to series of strike actions they embarked upon between 2013 and 2014.
According to him, the polytechnic sector is still undergoing a frenzied recovery from the scars of that engagement. This is avoidable if government had deployed proactive measures in addressing the issues in disputes.
He said some of these issues are the continued discrimination against Polytechnic graduates in
Public Service and in the labour market in Nigeria, non release of the White Paper on the Visitation to Federal Polytechnics, and non implementation of CONTISS 15 Migration for the Lower cadres and its arrears as from 2009 when the salary structure was approved.
Others are the non establishment of a National Polytechnics Commission (NPC) and the wrongful continued recognition of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) as the regulatory body for Polytechnics, the non-constitution of Governing Councils for some Federal Polytechnics by the Federal Government, the snail-pace of the review of the Federal Polytechnics Act by the National Assembly and the gross under funding of the Polytechnic sub sector and continued lopsidedness in the disbursements of TETfund grants and other interventions clearly designed to the disadvantage of the polytechnic sector.
ASUP is also frowning at the non-commencement of the re-negotiation of the FGN/ASUP agreement as contained in the signed agreement, the worrisome state of most state owned polytechnics and the failure of some state governments to implement policies that would ensure standardization of programmes and welfare of workers in the sector, and the continued appointments of inappropriate persons as Rectors and Provost of Polytechnics, Monotechnics and College of Technologies by governments.
It also want the refusal of most state governments to implement the approved salary package (CONPCASS) and 65-year retirement age for their Polytechnics to be addressed, monotechnics and Colleges of Technology, and the refusal of government to carry out a comprehensive Needs Assessment of Nigeria’s public polytechnics and funding there to.
The ASUP president said rather, In a strange twist, and without recourse to the content and spirit of the understanding on which the union suspended the strike, the Federal Ministry of Education on the 26th of January 2015, under the guise of a proposed verification exercise, issued a circular directing the suspension of the CONTISS 15 Salary Structure which implementation dates back to 2009, thereby, creating further confusion in the sector.
This development, according to him is provocative, ill timed, retrogressive, and is a flagrant breach of the trust and character of the agreement that led to the suspension of the strike in July, 2014.
“We are lost as to the real intent and objective of the Federal Ministry of Education in stirring the hornet’s nest at a time when our nation is in the throes of a challenging transition.
“While our union is still struggling to come to terms with the failure of Government to address the pending issues, we have recently found ourselves confronted with the reckless interference in the activities of the Union by Councils and Managements of some Polytechnics in Nigeria”.
He added that, “The experiences at the Federal Polytechnics in Ado-Ekiti, Ekowe, Oko and the Adamawa Sate Polytechnic, Yola are replications of atrocities from the Inquisition of the middle Ages.
“The Councils and Managements in the Federal Polytechnics Oko and Ado- Ekiti specifically have entrenched a culture of harmful blackmail and intimidation of Staff of the Institutions through primitive, crude and wanton issuance of queries, dismissal and suspension letters and denial of salaries to members of the union.
“These are done with the sole aim of protecting Chief Executives of the institutions whose styles of administration are oppressive, highhanded, retrogressive and replete with flaws. At the Federal Polytechnic Oko specifically, the academic standards for which the Institution was known has been cheaply compromised. The Management of this Institution has unwittingly imposed an examination-by-objective-questions system without adequately preparing the Staff and the Institution for the exercise.
“The poor implementation of the superficially tagged Computer Based Test (CBT) in the polytechnic today has thrown the Institution into a dilemma of succinct embarrassment. The Institution can hardly produce examination results nor conclude examinations.
“In order to cover up for the shameful enigma of the CBT system, there are damning reports of arbitrary allocation of marks to students in the untidy haste to offload a backlog of final year students for Industrial Attachment and NYSC. The draconian theatrics in Oko is also being replicated at Ado-Ekiti where allegations of financial misappropriation and dictatorship have been made against the Rector”.
Comrade Asomugha also disclosed that recently, the Council of the Federal Polytechnic Oko overstepped the precincts of its powers by issuing a statement purportedly proscribing ASUP in the Institution.
He also said the Council of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, are playing out the script of the Rector, and perhaps strengthened by the impunity at Oko, went a step further by suspending all union activities on all levels in the institution.
“The Councils and Managements of both institutions have further offered threats of ruthless consequences for any staff who contravenes their draconian orders. Already the Chairman of ASUP at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko has been dismissed from service in a clear act of victimization with several members of the executive queried on spurious charges.
“In Ado Ekiti, an ‘ethnic’ cleansing is sweeping through the staff as targeted union members have been queried with a view to dismissing them from service.
Most worrisomely, these anomalies are happening under the watch of the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) which are the supervisory and regulatory bodies of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria.
“Our Union views these developments as excessive and inimical to peaceful industrial co-existence. We are particularly saddened by the fact that our Union had embarked on a strike to compel the Federal Government to constitute the Councils of the Federal Polytechnics.
“The wisdom of the Union was to help the Institutions operate within the ambit of their extant laws and to check arbitrariness in the Institutions and also have the Councils serve as arbiters in matters of conflict. What we have at hand today is the flip-side of our good intention as most of our Councils have emerged as purveyors of threat to industrial peace and harmony in our Polytechnics. Several of the Councils have operated with a focus at variance with the intent of His Excellency, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, PhD, in appointing them.
“Most of the Councils do not have sustained programmes to contribute to the growth of the Institutions but are rather on a desperate mission to milk the dying cows through inordinate pursuit for contracts and other financial gains. This unfortunate development has induced our lack of faith and confidence in the Councils of the Federal Polytechnics as currently constituted”.
He said in view of these developments and also in view of the failure of Government to honour agreement with the union, ASUP resolved that at the expiration of the two weeks ultimatum the Union has issued to Government beginning from 11th February, 2015 on the pending issues, ASUP shall embark on an indefinite strike action until all the ongoing anomalies in our Polytechnics are addressed and the 13 point demand pending before Government implemented.
It also urged Federal Government, without further delay dissolve the Governing Councils of the Federal polytechnics Oko and Ado Ekiti as they have become burdens rather than solutions to the myriad of problems bedeviling the sector.
ASUP also want the circular issued by the Ministry of Education suspending the implementation CONTISS 15 Migration be withdrawn with immediate effect as the suspension is ill-timed and counterproductive and will create further tension in the sector, and that Managements and Councils of Polytechnics in Nigeria must desist from interfering in ASUP activities in their Institutions and stop forthwith the intimidation of staff who insist that proper things be done.
On the development on politics, the union described as unfortunate the ongoing political transition in the country, stressing that it is perplexing that our experience at democracy in Nigeria has not provided enough lessons to enable us avoid the flaws of previous years. Despite the benefits of democratic governance, our political class has continued to inflict the polity with inordinate actions and utterances which are only overheating the system and creating state of anxiety.
The recent postponement of the general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on grounds of insecurity is an indictment on the part of our security agencies and the government at large. It is also worrisome that INEC has also failed to conclude the distribution of the PVC, thereby endangering the chances of eligible voters in participating in the coming elections. These are negative images our country is creating for itself and to a large extent belittling itself before the comity of nations.
The postponement of the elections has further brought to question the integrity and competence of our security agencies and our ability as a nation to deploy appropriate actions to confront challenges.
ASUP condemns the use of religion and tribal affiliations and other forms of primordial sentiments (which are capable of disintegrating the nation) as tools for prosecuting campaigns in the forth coming elections. As the situation stands today in the polity, violence is being promoted through unguarded utterances and conducts of our politicians- thereby posing threats to the peaceful co-existence of the nation.
We call on Government to operate above the board and serve as overall umpire in the ongoing political processes in the country in order to create a platform for fairness, equity and justice. In conclusion the commitment of our union to continue to serve as vital stakeholders in the development of technical education in Nigeria”.