Zaria (Kaduna State): The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP), Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria Chapter, has raised the alarm over alleged poor salaries earned by the polytechnic lecturers as the union continues its strike.
The union alleged that the lecturers earned less than the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, which is sparking concerns over educators’ welfare.
The Chairman of the union, Malam Usman-Shehu Suleiman, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Zaria on Thursday.
The joint staff unions embarked on a one-week warning strike on June 16, which grounded academic activities at the two campuses of the institution.
The strike was hinged on the non-implementation of the National Polytechnic and Colleges of Education Salary Structure and the implementation of the 65-year retirement age for non-teaching staff, among other things.
Suleiman, who is also the Chairman of the Joint Action Committee of the staff unions of the institutions, said the net pay of an assistant lecturer at the institution was N64,400, which he said was far below the monthly allowance of NYSC members.
“This, among other reasons, made the institutions experience a drastic brain drain, and many lecturers are on the verge of leaving the institution.
“We lose cohorts of lecturers to Federal University of Transportation Daura, Katsina State; Federal Polytechnic Gombe and Kaduna State University (KASU), among other institutions.
“We have an instance where a lecturer was sponsored to acquire a master’s and PhD by the institution. Upon his return, he found the situation unbearable and decided to leave,” he said.
However, the Chairman added that the lecturer had signed a bond with the institution and had to repay NUBA Polytechnic over N21m.
The Chairman described the situation as a ‘bad omen’ for the education sector.
Similarly, Abubakar Aliyu-Shika, Chairman of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnic (SSANIP), NUBA Polytechnic branch, said the union had been agitating for the improvement of salary since 2009, “almost 16 years ago.
“We had a series of agreements with the state government on June 11, 2010, and June 19, 2014, over the matter, and nothing was done besides just signing the agreement and complaints of paucity of funds.”
He added that on Dec. 17, 2024, Gov. Uba Sani assured the joint unions’ leadership that the Polytechnic and College of Education Salary Structure (2024) would be implemented by the first quarter of 2025.
“Regrettably, we are at the end of the year’s second quarter, and no concrete steps have been taken to fulfil this promise,” he said.
Aliyu-Shika noted that one excuse was the paucity of funds in the state. The government would fully implement the new salary structure when the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) improved.
He added that the polytechnic’s total staff strength was slightly above 900, saying,” The government has recruited 500 new staff; it means the financial situation has improved, hence our demands.”
