The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP), has kicked against the Federal Government decision to reopen tertiary institutions in the country.
The Union in solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), insist there are no adequate provisions put in place to meet COVID-19 guidelines in Universities, Polytechnic and Colleges of education.
The ASUP President, Anderson Ezeibe, stated this in a media parley with newsmen on Thursday, saying the Federal Government’s plan on resumption is a threat to students and lecturers.
“The truth of the matter is that we need to be emotional about the resumption. Institutions were closed down for COVID-19 Pandemic. The spread is well known and the closure of institutions was precautionary to mitigate it. The question now is that what step has the government taken in tertiary institutions between March and now,” he questioned.
“If schools resume now that we don’t have any need to have shut in the first place. The agitation of students and parents are only emotional, and the positions of private institutions owners are mainly for personal gains.”
The ASUP President, stated that Polytechnic lecturers are not ready to expose themselves to the risk of contracted the coronavirus disease.
“The truth is that polytechnic lecturers we are not ready. There are lots of practical preparations to be done. Many institutions have up to 10,000 students. We are expecting that before resumption, there should be stakeholders’ forum where reality steps should be discussed. Before now, polytechnic lecturers and cleaners are outsourced for nearly 10 years. What it means is that the institutions rely on contractors to clean. We don’t have good health care facilities and many more.
“Are there isolation spaces in tertiary institutions? What about hostels capacities? How will all these be managed? The government simply wants to turn students and lecturers into Guinea pigs. Let there be stakeholders’ meeting for conclusion on resumption. This is the best solution,” he said.
Recall that the Federal Government had on September 3, 2020, directed state government and school administration to start making preparations for full reopening of schools across the country, after more than five months of inactivity.
