COVID-19: SSANIP kicks against reopening polytechnics | EduCeleb
EduCeleb
28th July 2020
The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP) South-West Zone has rejected the planned resumption of full academic activities in polytechnics unless sufficient provisions are made for it by govoernment.
The staff association made this known via a communique issued at the end of SSANIP Zone ‘F’ Executive Council Meeting held in Offa, Kwara State and released earlier this week.
The meeting was presided over by Chief Ayodeji Bankole; the National Deputy President/Zonal Co-ordinator and his Secretary, Comrade Sunday Akomolafe as well as Comrade Philip Adebanjo Ogunshola, SSANIP National President.
“The Council resolved to reject any proposed resumption of full academic activities until sufficient resources have been made available to meet the minimum guidelines of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)”, the communique explained.
SSANIP bemoaned the rate of community transmissions of COVID-19 and called on Federal Government to put in place, sufficient structural and complementary facilities that are at present not available in schools.
The meeting also decried the delay in the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage among the State polytechnics as well as the non-payment of its arrears in the Federal Polytechnics.
SSANIP also frowned at the non-implementation of the new Polytechnic Act by State Governments condemning the non-recognition of the powers of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) in the matter.
It asked the NBTE to enforce the policy of sanctions against non-accreditated programmes on erring polytechnics with the aim of forcing compliance with the new polytechnic act
The Association said there were a plethora of inadequacies in the Integrated Payroll & Personnel Information System (IPPIS) asking the government to without delay, address and rectify the “embarrassing shortcomings.”
SSANIP said that there are often “shortfalls in salaries of some staff members; non-paynent of salaries of some SSANIP members since February till date, inconsistency in the reflection of 2019 promotion of members on IPPIS platform and non-remittance of third party deductions such as Cooperative/Bank Loan deductions and other discrepancies.
The meeting called for speedy implementation of the newly proposed Scheme of Service asking the NBTE to expedite action and to ensure uniformity in the implementation of the scheme in both Federal and State Polytechnics, Colleges and similar institutions across the country.