Elder Statesman and Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, has canvassed for the abrogation of the unhealthy and unnecessary dichotomy between universities and Polytechnics and their products in Nigeria.
Instead, he recommended that upgrade all Polytechnics of Technology just like the government of Mr. John Major did in England when he abrogated all Polytechnics and converted to Universities.
His words: “if our Polytechnics are upgraded to Universities of Technology, their products, who would have imbibed functional and all-round education, would upon graduation be employers of labour instead of pounding the streets, looking for white-collar jobs which are scarce to come by today”.
To make things work, Babalola, who was speaking over the weekend when the leadership of Committee of Monotechnic and Polytechnic Librarian of Nigeria (COMPLIN) paid him a courtesy call, said in addition to converting Polytechnics to Universities of Technology, government should henceforth desist from appointing politicians into the Councils of tertiary institutions in the country.
In his view, the problems in the country’s Polytechnics, particularly the on-going strike by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) and their Non-Academic counterparts, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (NASUP) could be blamed on their Councils and their members who are doing the opposite of what they appointed to do.
Babalola therefore berated the Councils of Polytechnics and their members throughout the country for the on-going strike action by ASUP, stressing that unless the Councils members of Polytechnics appreciate that they are appointed to serve and lend their experience to the growth and development of their institutions, there will continue to be problems.
To stem this ugly tide, he advised the government to henceforth desist from appointing politicians, who are not interested in anything but money, to serve on the Councils of Polytechnics and Universities, adding that whoever wants to make money should look in other directions, but certainly not the education sector which requires a lot of seriousness, commitment and funding.
The legal icon recalled that he did not receive any allowances or salaries during his stint as Chairman of Council of Federal Polytechnic, Akure and Ado-Ekiti or as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), but instead, he used his own resources, goodwill and connections to develop the university so much so that it became the best around then.
He contended that if indeed the country genuinely desires to develop and grow, government must accord education a pride of place in its yearly budget, train the teachers very well, pay them very well and look after their overall welfare. This way, he added, they too will be committed and do what they are paid for.
ASUP had embarked on a nation-wide industrial action in May last year asking government to set up a Polytechnics Commission to oversee and superintend over Polytechnics just like NUC oversees universities in Nigeria and for the abrogation of the dichotomy between Polytechnic and university graduates.
As if determined to paralyze Polytechnic education, NASUP too joined their Academic counterparts in November last year on the same grounds canvassed by ASUP.
Earlier, COMPLIN President, Alhaji Tope Alogun, has pleaded with Babalola to intervene and use his influence and connections to save Polytechnic education from total collapse by ending the on-going strike action by ASUP and their Non-Academic counterparts, NASUP.
Alogun lamented that it would appear that whenever Polytechnics are on strike, government and its Agencies don’t seem to be concerned or bothered.