ASUP rejects FG’s outsourcing plan for polytechnic quality assurance

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has strongly opposed the Federal Government’s plan to outsource quality assurance functions in polytechnics, warning that the move threatens academic standards and institutional credibility.

ASUP Zonal Coordinator, Zone B, Mr. Lumpye Simji, made this known at a press conference in Bauchi on Friday, describing the policy—approved by the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and implemented through the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE)—as “ethically flawed, economically unsound, and inimical to the core mandate of the NBTE.”

“Our union is totally against outsourcing the mandate of NBTE to charlatans. Quality assurance in polytechnic education is not a function to be traded to unqualified vendors; it must remain in the hands of professionals who understand the dynamics of technical and vocational education,” Simji said.

He warned that the policy undermines the credibility of polytechnic certificates, weakens academic oversight, and jeopardizes the future of technical education in Nigeria. He added that lowering the bar for monitoring standards amounts to “institutional sabotage and a betrayal of public trust.”

Also speaking, Mr. Hussaini Yaro, ASUP Chairman at the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, said members would not hesitate to withdraw their services if government fails to act within the 21-day ultimatum issued on August 14. “In defending quality, we are defending the future of polytechnic education. If nothing is done before the ultimatum expires, a nationwide strike will follow,” he warned.

The union also listed other unresolved grievances, including the non-release of the Peculiar Academic Allowance circular, unpaid arrears of the 25/35 per cent salary review, delayed infrastructural funding, stalled promotions, and continued discrimination against HND holders.