The National President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Comrade Anderson Ezeibe has called on the federal government to make polytechnics in the country degree-awarding institutions in order to create greater access for Nigerian youths to obtain degree certificates.
Ezeibe made the call during the union’s 79th Zonal Executive Council (ZEC) meeting of zone ‘B’ held at the Federal Polytechnic Idah in Kogi State to update members of the union in respect of engagement between the union and the government.
According to him, the agitation to make Polytechnics degree-awarding institutions if actualized by the federal government would go a long way in putting a stop to the issue of dichotomy, noting that the effort will also create more access to tertiary education for Nigerian youth who are very eager to obtain degree certificates.
“Currently the Nigerian universities can not offer admission to most applicants because of the large numbers of candidates compared to the numbers of universities in the country, but if polytechnics are allowed to award degrees some of the people who are willing to obtain a degree can go to Polytechnic and that will mean that government has created greater access to such people in Nigeria.
“It will also stop this migration of lecturers from polytechnic to the university system and if you look at the trend in the western world where education emanated from, a lot of Polytechnics award degrees.
“We are not saying that Polytechnics should abandon technical education, the institution will retain its area of strength in terms of producing technical manpower for the nation because we believe that we can produce technical manpower both at the low, medium and a higher level of degree-awarding status,” he said.
Speaking on the lingering disparity between graduates of Higher National Diploma (HND) and Bachelor of Science (BSC), the ASUP National President appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the bill into law in the interest of millions of HND certificate holders who are waiting earnestly to see his assent.
Earlier, the Chairman of ASUP, Federal Polytechnic Idah branch Comrade Egbunu Danladi commended the Rector of the institution Dr Danjuma Baba for supporting the union to achieve its set objectives.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
- I Am Not Sick, I Only Repaired My Knee —Tinubu
- I’m Target Number One, My Wife And Children Are Number Two Of Russian Attacks, Ukrainian President Says
- How Workplace Sexual Harassment Forces Many Out Of Their Dream Jobs
and then