The Save Public Education Campaign, Nigeria (SPEC) has expressed its support for the demands by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the union?s planned strike as a result of long-standing inaction on these demands.

Convener of the Campaign, Comrade Vivian Bello, stated this while reacting to the industrial action announced by the education union to kick-start this week. According to her, the strike was long overdue in view of the negligence by the government of education in the country generally and particularly, polytechnic education.

She stated that it was public knowledge that ASUP had since been agitating for a number of demands including the proper funding of polytechnics education, immediate release of the second tranche of the NEEDS Assessment intervention Fund, implementation of the 25/35% salary increase for all the staff in public polytechnics, payment of all the outstanding arrears, the long standing migration arrears for lower cadres under CONTISS-15, implementation of all overdue promotions, arrears and payment of unpaid allowances amongst others, pointing out that in spite of the several notices the Union gave the government and the repeated warning strikes the federal government did not take any action to dialogue with, or meet the Union?s demands leaving the Teachers with no other option than to embark on industrial action.

Comrade Bello stated: ?It is Intrinsic to note that, one key lingering demand/issue in this sector has been the discrimination against Higher National Diplomas at par with Bachelor Degrees? status or recognition. For decades up till present, this disparity crisis has continued to affect HND holders at both private and public services while the government looks the other way instead of addressing this discrimination sustainably.

?SPEC holds that Polytechnic education by virtue of its nature, occupies a strategic place in evolving innovations that are very crucial to society?s development and in tune with the SDGs. It can act as a great catalyst to Human capacity development for Nigeria. Relegating it to the background therefore, or systematically depriving it of funds and discriminating against it as government is presently doing, is a great disservice to the country and particularly its teeming young population which this arm of education particularly targets and serves.

?We therefore strongly calls on the federal government particularly the Ministers of Education and Labour, to immediately dialogue with these Teachers and do all that is needed to not just end this strike action, but generally re-set the Polytechnic education in Nigeria on the path of standards, productivity and innovation in line with global standards and in keeping with the tenets of its establishment.

?We also strongly urge the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to activate their relevant machineries to give the needed support and solidarity to the struggles of Polytechnic Teachers in the country to enable their agitations receive the needed swift attention so as to end the disruption in the education of Nigerian students.?

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