ASUP rejects new scheme of service for polytechnics, issues 15-day ultimatum

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has rejected the New Unified Scheme of Service for polytechnics by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), describing it as further setbacks for practitioners in the industry.

The union noted that several provisions in the document fell short of the expected standards as it earlier observed.

President of ASUP, Shammah Kpanja said this at the end of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union in Abuja where it gave the Federal Government 15 days ultimatum, beginning from Monday, 8th of July, 2024 to address the union’s concerns regarding the document.

Kpanja urged the NBTE to suspend implementation of the document and address the gray areas identified by ASUP.

He said that the NEC, after reviewing the document and its implications, resolved to take steps it deems necessary to protect the interest of its members.

He said: “Following critical review of the document by the NEC of the Union, and in pursuit of our Union’s commitment to the advancement of the interest of members and the Polytechnics in Nigeria, the following resolutions were made: In view of the fact that several provisions in the document fell short of the expected standards as earlier observed.

“Our union is hereby issuing a 15-day ultimatum to proprietors of all public polytechnics, for the owners of the document, the NBTE to suspend implementation of the identified provisions until the requisite amendments are effected.

“The ultimatum is with effect from the 8th of July 2024. At the expiration of the 15-day ultimatum, the union’s NEC will reconvene to decide a specific and legitimate course of action to address the issue.

“Zones and chapters of the union are to prepare members for necessary action within the 15 days ultimatum through congresses, peaceful protests, and media campaigns on the issue.”

Kpanja particularly highlighted the authoriisation of the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHSCoF) as responsible for staff employment in the polytechnic saying that this decision contradicts the processes of the institution.

The labour leader questioned the authority behind certain provisions within the guidelines, stating that, “Our conviction is that the OHCSoF cannot be preparing or approving a document on career development of staff when she is neither an employer nor regulator,”

He stated: “The document’s approval route which gave rise to the significant and contentious alterations is legally questionable as the role of The Office of The Head of Civil Service of The Federation (OHCSoF) as an approving authority is challengeable.

“This assertion is underlined by the provisions of Section 3 (1) of the Federal Polytechnics Act amended in 2019 where Governing Councils are established for each Polytechnic as Body Corporate with perpetual succession and common seal.”

He said that the status of Polytechnics in the country was settled in law by rulings of the National Industrial Court, adding that the Governing Councils are the employers of staff in the Polytechnics and the Federal Executive Council has also underlined same in its recent letter of 18th December 2023 CM1/5.II/1/304, where OHSCoF was excluded from any role in the employment of staff in tertiary institutions.

“Our conviction is that the OHCSoF cannot be preparing or approving a document on career development of staff including assessment of such staff for career growth when she is neither an employer nor regulator,” he said.

Kpanja also described the new scheme of service as controversial, saying that the status of Nigerian Polytechnics was again brought to question by the document.

He also condemned the document for promoting what he described as discriminatory practices favouring university degree holders over Higher National Diploma (HND) holders in the country, noting that such policies set back efforts that have so far been made by the Union to bridge that gap.

He said: “Several provisions in the controversial document eroded gains made in our Union’s battle against this condemnable act.

“The contentious document curiously, unjustifiably and unacceptably elongates the career progression steps of the Lecturer cadre from a 7 step to a 9 step career development cadre and at the same time added an extra year for promotion to the final two levels.

“This implies that anyone on the lecturer cadre will now endure a minimum of 26 tortuous years from the base to the highest level. This is not acceptable particularly in view of the fact that this deviates from the norm in other subsectors and that the retirement age in the sector remains unchanged.

“The unfair career progression guide in the sector particularly as it affects the teaching and non-teaching staff cadres is a recipe for crises as such is not reflective of the remuneration accruing to the cadres.

“The document was manifest with a proliferation of directorates with unsustainable financial implications on the overhead of the institutions. Equally, we view it as an act of duplicity for the NBTE to enter into a questionable Memorandum of

“Understanding with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria on the issue of the status of the HND program in Pharmaceutical Technology run by Polytechnics, while at the same time creating a cadre which requires manpower of the same qualification. This contradiction is unfortunate.

“The release of documents by the NBTE subtly amending some provisions and seeking approval for amendment of others amounts to an admission of guilt and a halfhearted attempt at lifting the mourning mood in the sector imposed by the release of the contentious scheme of service. This is unsatisfactory and self-indicating on the commitment of the NBTE to the ideals and aspirations of the Nigeria Polytechnic System.”

The ASUP leader further objected to the mandatory inclusion of National Skills Qualifications (NSQ) as a prerequisite for academic staff career advancement, labeling it as irrelevant to the delivery of polytechnic curricula.

He added: “The tertiary educational institution status of Polytechnics is settled in different laws and policy instruments. Therefore, the introduction of sub-tertiary level qualifications like in this instance the National Skills Qualifications (NSQ) as mandatory conditions for academic staff career growth is a misnomer, as the possession of NSQ has no meaningful contribution to the delivery of the contents of the curricula of the different programs offered at the tertiary education level in Polytechnics.

“This is again amplified by the sustenance of titles for the Lecturer and Librarian cadres in the document which are at variance with the norm in tertiary education globally.”