Striking members of Bauchi State chapter of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, have accused the supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, of gambling with the future of students in polytechnics in the country.
According to them, Wike is only interested in his political ambition and has not shown enough commitment towards resolving the issues that have sustained the indefinite strike.
National Vice President of ASUP, Usman Duste, who stated this, yesterday, during an interview with newsmen in Bauchi, said although the struggle was in the interest of the students and to address the rot in polytechnics, the lingering strike will definitely affect the quality of graduates produced in the institutions.
He criticised the minister for giving the public a wrong impression that ASUP was strong-headed by embarking on propaganda and spreading falsehood.
Duste lamented the high level discrimination that existed between polytechnics and universities, saying “polytechnics in Nigeria are treated by the government as second class institutions, whose certificates are not job worthy.
“For instance, in the area of funding, TEPFUND gives polytechnics and Colleges of Education half of federal funds, while the funding received by one university is more than five polytechnics put together.”
He also raised doubt concerning the setting up of a committee to address the dichotomy between Higher National Diploma (HND) and degree holders, which was announced by Wike at a retreat in Kaduna.
