The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) on Wednesday urged state governments to invest more on state owned polytechnics for effective operations.
Mr Anderson Ezeibe, President, ASUP, made the call at the opening of a week long National Delegates Conference of the Union in Asaba.
Ezeibe said that most of the government owned polytechnics depend solely on Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to function.
“In June when we returned from strike , we were given a document showing the approval for the release of N15 billion as revitalisation of the infrastructural fund in lieu of the implementation of the need assessment reports of 2014.
“Six months down the line, not a penny has been released. If you get to some polytechnics, you will see that a lot of them are TETfund institutions, that is why we are talking about stopping the issue of proliferation of polytechnics.
“If you are not ready to fund the existing institutions do not establish more, do not establish polytechnics just because you want to attract TETfund, ” he said.
Ezeibe decried the non appropriation of capital expenditure in many state owned polytechnics.
“In so many state owned polytechnics, capital appropriation is virtually non existence, every single infrastructure, is sponsored by TETfund.
“If you want to establish a polytechnic, bear in mind to meet the educational and technological needs of your people,” he said.
Ezeibe also called for the appointment of qualified persons as rectors of polytechnics.
Also speaking, Mrs Francisca Nwafulugo, Rector of the Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra, said that her administration has provided conducive environment that would engender performance from staff.
“Some of the achievements made so far include the payment of large tranch of arrears of earned allowances which we inherited.
“We also conducted International Computer Driving License training for over 100 teaching and non teaching staff.
“Quality education is what we owe our teeming students, as stakeholders in the education sector, so, we all must rise up to the task,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the week long Delegate Conference which was billed to hold at the Federal Polytechnic Oko in Anambra was held in Asaba.(NAN)
