BY BRIGHT JACOB
The zonal coordinator of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Lagos Zone, Adelaja Odukoya, has said that the bill seeking to end the dichotomy between polytechnics and universities is not addressing all relevant issues concerning both sectors of education in the country.
He wondered why the dichotomy at the level of degree could be removed, while it was still in place at the level of admission.
According to him, “we are not addressing the issue the way it is supposed to be addressed.
“It is superficial to say that you are ending dichotomy at the level of degree when at the level of entrance, there’s dichotomy. What is the entry qualification for people going to polytechnics? Is it the same thing with those coming to the universities?” Odukoya queried.
Speaking further, he said, “what calibre of lecturers lecture at the polytechnics? Are they the same people that can lecture at the level of the universities? These are the issues.”
Odukoya also remarked that “there is a different prestige to what universities represent”.
He noted that overseas where some polytechnics are said to be at par with universities, was simply because those polytechnics did the needful in terms of upgrading their faculties and equipment, and that it wasn’t sufficient to just say that they were into practicals or that they focused more on practicals (a reference to the notion about polytechnics), because “there’s no practice without theory, and there’s no theory without practice.”
Odukoya also highlighted the failures in the past to remove the dichotomy, which according to him didn’t work out well because of the manner things were done. He went ahead to clarify that he didn’t have any issues with the polytechnics and that what one did with the kind of education he or she got was what really mattered.
He also berated those who saw the polytechnics and universities as their meal ticket.
“What is the calibre of people that come to either the university or polytechnics today?,” he asked.
“They are mostly people that see education, not for what it is, but as a meal ticket, and I think it’s that kind of orientation that informed that kind of bill,” he concluded.
The Point also spoke with the president of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics, Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Sunday Sabo, who said there is an influx of students into the polytechnics because they do a lot of practical works, which is like a tailored programme.
Sabo was also of the view that the polytechnics were a combination of theoretical and practical works. According to him, “this is why when polytechnic graduates go out to work, whether as a surveyor or engineer, they’re very good in the field.
“Although I am not saying that polytechnic graduates are better, my worry is that they should be given equal chances to compete.”
Sabo was, however, optimistic that the bill will address that. “Remove the dichotomy and let people be given equal opportunities to compete,” he further stated.
He also addressed the “prestige” surrounding the University system.
According to him, “the reason why people leave the polytechnics for the universities is because of the attachment to titles, like professorship; but in terms of doing the real work, people prefer to come to the polytechnics.”
Sharing Sabo’s thoughts, Anderson Ezeibe, General Secretary, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, said that if the bill eventually becomes a law, it would “improve the attraction” for polytechnics.
“It is superficial to say that you are ending dichotomy at the level of degree when at the level of entrance, there’s dichotomy. What is the entry qualification for people going to polytechnics? Is it the same thing with those coming to the universities?
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He added that when a student is not sure about the future, he or she would not be keen to engage in just any type of education, but that with this bill, it meant that the young people who aspired for polytechnic education will have some measures of assurance that when they finish, they would not be discriminated against in the labour.
On the issue relating to the dichotomy in the admission process, where cut off marks for polytechnic are lower than those of the universities, Ezeibe said, “that position, with respect to whoever is advancing it, is not tenable, because first of all, you need to ask who is fixing cut-off marks for admission in different institutions.”
Ezeibe said that in the university, what JAMB did was to provide a minimum, but the eventual fixing of cut-off marks was done by the Senate of the university, and, in the polytechnics, by the Academic Board. The implication, according to him, was that some polytechnics had higher cut-off marks than universities.
“What JAMB does is to fix a minimum of 160 for polytechnics, but that doesn’t mean that for every polytechnic the cut-off mark will be 160. At such a time you’re fixing 160, the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, where I work, fixed it at 180, same cut-off mark in the universities.
“Also, what about cut-off marks for private universities? Do they even have any? If you also look at the basic requirements for admission, it is the same. It is five credits for everyone. That’s why I said that the issue of admission policy is not tenable and should not be a reason to discriminate against polytechnic students,” he submitted.
On whether polytechnic lecturers may now have the ground to demand for a pay rise that will be at par with their university counterparts, Ezeibe said that the difference between the salary structure in the polytechnics and universities was not very significant.
He said that it was not a matter of competition about who earned more. He added that as academics, their primary focus, apart from teaching, is to contribute to society through research and innovation “for the consumption of society.”
He, therefore, urged the government to help make the remuneration packages more competitive and reward-driven.
“If, for instance, you’re a lazy academic in the university, you shouldn’t earn more than a hard-working academic in the polytechnic, and vice versa,” he concluded.
The Point also asked Fadeke Ogunsanwo, a student in one of the polytechnics in the South West of Nigeria, what she thought about the bill.
She replied, “I was actually thinking of going to enroll in the university after my OND. I wanted to do so because one of my lecturers advised us not to worry about coming back to enroll for HND, because Nigeria doesn’t value or appreciate polytechnic graduates.”
“I am happy that I can stay back now because of this bill. I pray it will be signed into law soon.”
It would be recalled that the House of Representatives had on November 23, 2021, during plenary, passed a bill that sought to end the dichotomy between first degree and Higher National Diploma holders.
The bill, titled “A bill for an Act to Abolish and Prohibit Dichotomy and Discrimination between First Degree and Higher National Diploma in the same field for the purpose of employment, and for related matters,” was read on the floor of the Green Chamber the third time.
Edward Pwajok, a lawmaker from Plateau State had sponsored the bill during the 8th Assembly, and it passed second reading in 2017. It now awaits the Senate’s concurrence, from where it would be sent to the President for his assent.
