ASUP urges FG to be more committed to poly education

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to be more committed to the growth of polytechnic education in the country.

Chairman of ASUP, Yaba College of Technology Chapter, Lagos, Mr Nureni Yekini, made the plea in Lagos.

He said that polytechnic education had not received the desired attention from the government.

According to him, polytechnic education is based on practicals, and needs a lot of investment in equipment, laboratories, research and technical manpower.

Yekini said: “In the polytechnic, you need to teach people to acquire skills to manufacture, produce and become self-sufficient to transform the economy of the country.

“In the situation whereby you do not have the necessary tools, equipment and facilities to do all that, then what are we talking about?”

He said that remuneration of teachers and lecturers in the country could also be better.

“If the federal government is sincere and it wants us to wake up from the slumber that the country is in now, there is need for it to take polytechnic education seriously.

“Otherwise, we cannot go beyond where we are presently. There must be serious commitment, both financially and policy wise.

“We will continue to make noise and complain, but the problem will persist because our government hasn’t paid attention to technical education,” he said.

Yekini also spoke on a 21-day ultimatum the union gave the Federal Government to address some demands.