Keep unionism out of educational policy

Last week, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) condemned the practice by Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) that placed the cut-off mark for university candidates higher than their polytechnic and colleges of education counterparts. According to ASUP President, Chibuzo Asomugha granting polytechnic candidates lower cut-off mark was discriminatory and unacceptable as it makes […]

Last week, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) condemned the practice by Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) that placed the cut-off mark for university candidates higher than their polytechnic and colleges of education counterparts.
According to ASUP President, Chibuzo Asomugha granting polytechnic candidates lower cut-off mark was discriminatory and unacceptable as it makes polytechnics as undesirable destination for pursuit of tertiary education.
The president went further to state that the policy of JAMB that profiles polytechnics as unfavoured destination was absurd and unfortunate adding that candidates seeking admission into polytechnics should be placed on the same benchmark as their university counterparts as the current policy places the polytechnics as inferior or incapable of competing with the best in terms of service delivery.
It is important that ASUP understand that the government educational policy which necessitated the current practice which places scores of 180 and 150 as the minimum cut off marks for admissions to degree and non-degree awarding institutions was unanimously agreed at the 2015 6th Combined Policy Meeting on admission to Degree, Nigeria Certificate Education NCE and National Innovation Diploma awarding Institutions.
The university and polytechnic dichotomy span beyond examination as over the years, graduates of polytechnics have made several appeals to the federal government to bridge the gap as no matter how brilliant a polytechnic graduate is, a university degree holder is placed above him at higher level in government appointments.
During the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, attempts were made to bridge the gap but nothing significant came out of it and former Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau, in 2014 also made efforts to revive the debate but the status still remained unchanged.
The idea of polytechnic system was introduced by government to provide/supply the nation with middle level manpower while the high level manpower was to be provided by the universities. This practice is not restricted to Nigeria alone.
The 6th edition of the National Policy on Education noted that university education shall intensify and diversify its programmes for the development of high level manpower within the context of the needs of the nation while polytechnics shall offer courses on instruction and training in engineering, other technologies, applied sciences, business and management leading to the production of trained manpower for the country.
The policy has spelled out what is expected of universities or polytechnics graduates hence the curriculum and examinations are designed in a way as to achieve such objectives.
The outcry by ASUP is therefore surprising because as stakeholders in the educational sector they are in a better position to know that both universities and polytechnics were established for difference reasons.
ASUP exist mainly to protect and safeguard the interest of its members. The national overall educational policy cannot be determined by a union.
The union must not soil or mix their mandate as every country has its educational policy set out taking a clue from the international community.
The expectation is that ASUP should champion the call for government to provide a better working condition and recognition for technicians, products from the polytechnics.
ASUP should also intensify efforts to improve the quality of education at the polytechnic level so that their graduates can be job creators rather than compete for white coal jobs with university graduates.
However, the current examination conducted by JAMB which placed every candidate on the same pedestal should be revisited as not every candidate is interested in going to the university or polytechnic as the case maybe.
Candidates should be examined based on their choice but the current system ensure that the most brilliant or intelligent candidates go to the universities while those who are unable to make the university mark go to the polytechnics.
This development leads to inferiority complex amongst products of both system as those from the university assume that they are superior and above their polytechnic counterparts.
JAMB should look into the argument put forward by ASUP and see if there was any merit in it so as to address it accordingly.
The federal government should also make conscious efforts in educating stakeholders especially candidates on the difference between the university and polytechnic so that the choice first and foremost to go to either is theirs but not determined by the mark they score in the examination.