Following that action of the National Board for Technical
Education against Abia State Polytechnic Aba, the governor of Abia State,
Okezie Ikpeazu, said the action was embarrassing.
He has therefore appealed to the students of Abia Poly and
other well-meaning Abians to remain calm, while a taskforce has been set up to
resolve the matter.
In a statement by the Secretary to the State Government,
Barr Chris Ezem, the state government said it “views the decision of NBTE
against the institution as very embarrassing and capable of destabilizing the
current peace and harmony existing in the state, as the fate of the students of
the institution appears to be jeopardized by the said action.
“It must be placed on record that Academic activities have been ongoing in the institution without interruptions; the teachers and staff of Abiapoly were not on strike and have remained committed to their duties.
“As part of the measure to reposition the institution,
Government hereby announces the immediate dissolution and suspension of the
council and management of the institution respectively.
“In line with the foregoing, government has approved the
constitution of a 6-man taskforce to restore the Accreditation of Abia Poly
within 30 days”.
Members of the taskforce, the statement said, includes Prof.
Ikechi Mgboji as the Chairman and Mr Stanley Nwankpa, the school Student Union
Government President as member, among others.
Rector promises quick resolution
Meanwhile, the institution’s Rector, Prof. Okorie Kalu
Osonwa, has assured the students of the government’s commitment to promptly
resolve the issues of deaccreditation.
Addressing the students yesterday, Prof. Osonwa informed
them that the polytechnic management was in talks with the state government to
look for ways to resolve the issue.
He, therefore, urged the students not to be carried away by
stories online, assuring that the issue will soon be resolved. He further
advised them to continue with their academic activities.
It would be recalled that the NTBE revoked the accreditation
of the institution over the Institution’s failure to pay staff salaries and
allowances for over 30 months.
In that statement issued on Tuesday, a spokesperson for
NBTE, Fatima Abubakar, said the accreditation was withdrawn because the
polytechnic had not shown any commitment to offset the arrears and ensure
regular payment of salaries.
“It is, therefore, with utmost sense of responsibility that
the board has decided to withdraw the accreditation status of the polytechnic
to safeguard the quality assurance mechanism of the board,” Ms. Abubakar said,
adding that the Governing Council and management of the polytechnic made
several failed promises to settle the backlog of salary arrears.
She explained that regular salary payment was a key
component of the board’s normative instruments for quality assurance in the
polytechnics, technical, vocational education and training, TVET institutions.
Ms. Abubakar also mentioned that the board had ewarlier
drawn the attention of the polytechnic’s management to the consequences of
failing to pay salaries, including the suspension of quality assurance visits,
informing “The board went the extra mile of writing to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu
of Abia state, informing him of the dire situation of the polytechnic, but all
to no avail,” she added.
The Board similarly warned the National Youth Service Corps,
NYSC that “no product of the Abia State Polytechnic should be mobilized for
national service until the management of the polytechnic resolves the issue of
nonpayment of salary to its staffers, while the Board promised to notify the
NYSC once the accreditation status of the polytechnic is restored.”
The NBTE official said the board has also sent a similar notice
of the withdrawal of the accreditation to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund and
Industrial Training Fund to stop any official transaction with the polytechnic.
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