Polytechnic System Endangered By FG- ASUP
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, has alleged that the neglect of polytechnic education by the Federal Government is responsible for the mass exodus from the system of experienced and well-trained intellectuals, and low enrollment of students into polytechnics.
ASUP’s National President, Mr. Usman Dutse, made this known Tuesday at the union’s 14th National Delegate Conference at Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi State.
He said polytechnic education in the country has become endangered owing to persistent neglect, underfunding, unfavourable/conflicting policies, obsolete instruments of operation, decay of infrastructure and poor conditions of service.
According to him, “as major stakeholders in the sector, we cannot ignore the fact that problems of polytechnic education in Nigeria are becoming increasingly worrisome.
“Our sector is discriminated against and our graduates are ridiculed at points of employment, not because they lack the capacity, but because of marginalisation is enshrined in the policies and laws of the country.
“From records available to us, 1.5 million persons apply to universities, while less than 40,000 apply to the polytechnics.
“Several efforts for the total removal of the dichotomy are still being sabotaged by some government interests.”
Challenges In his address at the conference, the Rector of the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi, Shaibu Musa, lamented that inadequate funding had crippled the broad and existing national policies and programmes of polytechnic education.
He added that these issues needed to be tackled to enable the nation benefit from the huge potential of polytechnic education.
He enumerated the achievement of Bauchi Polytechnic, saying the institution had recruited 240 academic staff of various ranks, approved study fellowships in Nigeria and international universities.
