SAN FRANCISCO, December 05, (THEWILL) – The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has declared that it would begin an indefinite strike from December 12.
The polytechnic lecturers will join their university colleagues, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) who have been on strike for a month.
This was revealed by the National President of ASUP, Usman Dutse, who said the federal government had failed to meet the demands of the polytechnic lecturers stating that the proposed strike would be “total and indefinite”.
Prior to this impending strike, the union had on October 2 issued a 21-day ultimatum to the government before it extended it to November. But even then, it did not commence the strike.
“This further emphasises the resolution of the 93rd National Executive Council meeting reached at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos last week,” he said.
“Government has failed to implement and fulfil agreements it reached with the union as contained in the memorandum of understanding signed.
“The issue of the funding of the institutions has always been a major concern. After the government conducted the NEEDS assessment in 2014, it promised to implement it. Years after, there is no designed roadmap to implement that.
“The institutions are not funded. The states are even worse because state governments just establish schools without actually funding those schools. So, no infrastructure is in place.
“We have states that are owing about 14 month salaries. Some owe eight months. Benue, Ogun, Osun, Edo, Kogi are owing up to as long as 14 months,” he said.
THEWILL recalls that ASUP went on strike in November 2017; but when the federal government reached an agreement to implement the recommendations of the 2014 NEEDS assessment, the strike was suspended 15 days after.
The agreement particularly highlighted the need for increased funding of polytechnics.
