FRESH STRIKE LOOMS IN NIGERIAN POLYTECHNICS

Culled from: PREMIUM TIMES

Polytechnic students protesting teachers' strike
ASUP says government has reneged on its agreement. Polytechnics in
Nigeria are gearing for a fresh round of strikes after the federal
government failed to address a "single thing" in their agreement, the
Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP said on ...
Tuesday.
Speaking at a mass protest organised in Lagos to call government's
attention to the poor state of public education, Chibuzo Asomugha,
stated that a fresh strike is inevitable.
"The time we gave after the suspension of the strike will expire next
week and up till now government has not done any single thing in the
agreement," Mr. Asomugha, ASUP's National President, told PREMIUM
TIMES.
"We joined this protest because we want to identify with the spirit of
the Nigerian people to prevent the decay in the education sector," he
added.
Last month, ASUP suspended its nearly three month old strike after the
intervention of the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of
Representatives on Education.
The committee had said that it would liaise with the relevant
government ministries, agencies, and parastatals with a view to
tackling all the union's demands.
ASUP had embarked on a nationwide industrial action on April 29, 2013,
to force government to carry out a comprehensive overhaul of
polytechnics across Nigeria.
Some of the union's concerns include the failure to constitute
Governing Councils of federal polytechnics; snail speed of works on
the amendment of the Federal Polytechnics Act/Scheme of Service; and
the worrisome state of State owned polytechnics in the country.
Other concerns are the refusal of most state governments to implement
the approved salary packages (CONPCASS) for their polytechnics, and
the 65 years retirement age; as well as the continued appointment of
unqualified persons as Rectors and Provosts of Polytechnics,
Monotechnics, and Colleges of Technologies by some state governments,
among others.
The union had given the government representatives one month to accede
to its demands.
The ASUP boss accused the federal government of insensitivity because
"they do not have their children in the polytechnics."
"Government should stop paying lip service to public education. The
closer you get to this people in government, the more you lose hope,"
Mr. Asomugha said.