Poly Student Issue Ultimatum Over ASUP Strike

yetunde oyeleke

April 1, 2014 5:08 PM

Polytechnic students may converge at Abuja to disrupt the ongoing national conference over the FG's refusal to bring the prolonged ASUP strike to an end.

The ongoing national conference is under threat as students of polytechnics and Colleges of Education have issued a 2-week ultimatum to Federal Government over the prolonged Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) strike

The students asked the government to resolve the strike or risk the disruption of the ongoing national conference.

In a rally held in Kaduna, Comrade Salahudeen Lukman, Senate President of the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) said they would take over the streets of Abuja and disrupt the conference until their campuses are re-opened.

“We demand rescue, President Goodluck Jonathan should please save our souls and careers. The strike has crippled all academic activities all over our campuses which has left us idle, frustrated and unhappy”, they said.

Lamenting what they called 'poor funding and discrimination' the students demanded a review of all discriminatory policies of the federal government and its agencies including disbursement of funds among tertiary institutions based on categories by TETFUND instead of capacity.

A similar development in Lagos, saw hundreds of polytechnics students on the streets carrying placards with inscriptions like “Spend money on education sector, not on National Conference”, “Education is our right not a privilege”, "HND' Equals Or Greater Than BSc."

The ASUP strike started since April 2013, and the body’s leaders have vowed not to to call off the strike until their demands are fully met.

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