It’s no more news that the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics are on strike. The Union according to the Union’s Publicity Secretary, Mr. Clement Chairman had unresolved issues with the government which must be addressed, the union listed its grievances as the non-constitution of governing councils for Polytechnics, Monotechnics, and Colleges of Technology; non-release of the White Paper of the visitation panels to federal polytechnics, discrimination of Polytechnic graduates and non-commencement of the NEED Assessments of the polytechnics.
Others are what the union described as the worrisome state of state-owned polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of technology; the continued appointment of unqualified persons as rectors and provosts by some state governments; and the failure of most states to implement the approved salary package and 65-year retirement age for its members.
A lot had been said by many Polytechnic Students about the refusal of the Union to call off its strike which has paralyzed academic activities in Nigeria Polytechnics for the past 2 months and I began to wonder if all is well in the Student community. Students instead of supporting their Lecturer are the one criticizing them. I felt so sad seeing Students criticizing those fighting for better education for them, those fighting to end the discrimination between Bsc and HND holders, those fighting for proper funding of Polytechnic education in Nigeria. Yet we students who will be at advantage at the end keep on criticizing them. Conventionally,
I wish to opine without any form of bias that the ASUP seemed to be right considering the information available to me, while the FG seemed to be hiding so much skeletons subject to critical explanation. Most Polytechnics in Nigeria are nothing to compare with secondary schools, there is an “absence of a clear mandate &common understanding of the role of
Polytechnics in National development” by the Government, unfair salary and remuneration packages for Polytechnic workers, discrimination in the placement of HND holder in some Private/Public service organization and yet we keep on criticizing those fighting for us to make all things alright.
As for me, I think ASUP should be careful this time around and not be deceived by the Govt like what happened during the first strike embarked on early this year. I think it’s high time we students stop criticizing our Lecturers but give them the necessary support.
Yakubu Temitope Tajudeen is a Student of Federal Polytechnics, Ado Ekiti.
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