The argument in this regard is anchored on the fact that university and polytechnic graduates should be assessed on the strength of their competence on job delivery and not the institution attended. There is also the worrisome condition of state-owned polytechnics in the country, many of which are said to be of serious concern to stakeholders in the sector. Others are the continued appointment of unqualified persons as rectors and provosts of polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of technology by some state governments. Another issue is the refusal of most state governments to implement the approved salary packages (CONPCASS) for their polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of technology as well as the 65-year retirement age even though both state and federal polytechnics are regulated by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and they operate the same scheme of service. The insistence of the office of the Accountant General of the Federation to include federal polytechnics in the IPPIS module as against the union’s protestations while other arms of the tertiary education sub-sector are allowed to maintain the status quo is another contentious issue. There is also the continued recognition of the NBTE as the regulatory body of Nigerian polytechnics as against the union’s repeated call for the establishment of a National Polytechnics Commission(NPC). The argument here is based on the fact that the universities and colleges of education are regulated by the National Universities Commission(NUC), and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), respectively.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 13:07:14 +0000