Poly, COE lecturers to protest in Abuja today

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) will today in Abuja protest government’s “nonchalance” to their demands to fix polytechnics and colleges of education in the country.

The polytechnic lecturers have been on strike since October 4, 2013 while the college of education lecturers embarked on strike on December 18, 2013.

ASUP President Chibuzor Asomugha and the Chairman of COEASU, College of Education Zuba chapter, in a press conference accused the Supervising Minister of Education Nyesom Wike of embarking on a propaganda mission to discredit their members instead of addressing the issues.

Both unions are protesting the failure of government to kickstart the re-negotiation of an agreement it signed with them in 2009 which fell due in July 2012.

ASUP is demanding the implementation of CONTISS 15 migration for the lower cadres in the polytechnics and the release the White Paper on the visitations to federal polytechnics more than one year after the exercise.

It is also demanding an end to the HND/BSc dichotomy.

On its part, COEASU is protesting the “non-accreditation of its programmes…corruption of the security architecture of the colleges through outsourcing to settle political allies at the detriment of staff and government’s huge investment” and the “non-payment of pension/death benefits to families of deceased members.”

Asomugha raised doubts over federal government’s sincerity in addressing the HND/ BSc dichotomy saying that government did not invite the union into a committee it recently set up, headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Anyim Pius Anyim.