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The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, has rejected the newly constituted governing councils of Federal Government-owned polytechnics in the country.
In a statement signed by its President, Shammah Kpanja, ASUP berated the new list of appointees, whom it tagged as individuals with “no knowledge of the polytechnic system.”
Recall that 11 months after the administration of President Bola Tinubu dissolved the governing councils of the Federal Government-owned universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, it unveiled a list of newly appointed members of councils.
The list was unveiled on Saturday in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Didi Walson-Jack.
According to the statement, the inauguration and retreat for the new governing council members would be held on May 30 and May 31 at the headquarters of the National Universities Commission in Abuja.
Reacting, the ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, said the Federal Government was expected to reinstate the “illegally” dissolved governing councils and not to constitute new ones.
“Having carefully studied the released list of new members, we want to express our dissatisfaction and disappointment with the composition of the polytechnics council.
“Our union has been demanding that persons with the requisite knowledge of the workings of the sector be appointed.
“Such persons in the category of former rectors and other principal officers from the sector, former chief executives and staff of the regulatory body, retired and serving chief lecturers and other staff from the sector, who have displayed adequate knowledge of the workings of the sector abound in sufficient numbers.
“The current composition falls significantly short of the above as no such person(s) in the categories listed was appointed.
“This is a great disservice to the polytechnics and is also different from the experience in the two other sub-sectors that make up the tertiary education sector.”
ASUP demanded that the list be reviewed before the inauguration to include the class of persons with requisite knowledge of the workings of polytechnics.
