The Presidential Committee on the removal of dichotomy between the Higher National Diploma and the University degree holders yesterday, submitted its report.
The 12-Man Technical Committee constituted by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, submitted its report to the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike in Abuja.
Receiving the report, the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike said the submitted report is a major approach to addressing the key demands of the Academic staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP.
According to him, “This is part of addressing the pressing demands of the academic staff union of polytechnics, but what is most important is that the committee has been able to do their job very well, and submitted their report earnestly, is for the ASUP to know that the government is willing to solve the entire problem.
“The report will be accordingly forwarded to the secretary to the government for immediate action, it will not be like other reports, one thing we should also know is that once the government comes up with a position paper that will be the final decision.
“The government will have to digest this report before they come up with a decision”.
Wike also said the submission of the report is meant to re-assure the union that the government was doing all it can to ensure that all lingering problems are been solved.
The Minister urged the striking lecturers of the Polytechnics to call off the industrial action in the interest of the nation.
The President of the academic staff union of Polytechnic and a member of the committee, Dr Chibuzor Asomugha who arrived the venue of the meeting after the submission of the report acknowledged the action as a step forward.
He said the strike will end when the federal government comes to terms with its own sides of the bargain.
The ASUP boss noted, “When the strike will end will depend on when the government comes to terms with meeting up with its own side of the bargain and excerpt nothing less, we are asking the government to make some commitment with certain levels in the areas that we have reached ”
He explained that what has delayed the strike this long is the intrusion to offset the Union members’ arrears.
He said, “At the point we are trying to look at the modalities for upsetting this arrears, the salaries and the incomes wages commission now claimed there were problems posing questions about the arrears, this we believe it is cynical it should not be encouraged”.
Why do they have to wait till the 11month before doing what is necessary? He questioned.
The Chairman of the committee who is also the Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry , MacJohn Nwaobiola earlier stated that the committee identified the need to maintain standards in the Technical and Vocational programmes of the Polytechnics by synchronizing the two B.Tech curriculums presented by the National board for technical education and the National Universities Commission.
He also said that the committee identified the necessity for changes to be made in the classification of higher national diploma holders in the scheme of service.
“To avoid further dichotomy, the committee identified the need to maintain standards, by not creating two different B.Tech degrees and we therefore considered it more beneficial to synchronize the B.Tech curriculum proposed by the NBTE for polytechnics with the B.Tech degree approved for the universities by the National Universities commission”
“the committee observed the necessity for changes to made in classification of HND holders in the scheme of service ”
“The issues of extending the mandate of polytechnics to include the award of degrees received detailed treatment”. He said.