Acute Shortage Of Lecturers Looms In Nasarawa Polytechnic

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Rabiu Omaku

Staff Employed In 2011 Are Not Our Staff– Al-Makura

Fresh fact has emerged that the adoption of Treasury Single Account by Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura has compelled the management of the Nasarawa State Polytechnic Lafia to sack one hundred and seven (107) engaged staff, as gathered these staff were engaged with the sole aim of cushioning the acute shortage of manpower that is about crippling academic activities.

The Treasury Single Account (TSA) is a pain in the neck of the management of the state owned tertiary institution.

The acute shortage of academic staff forced the school management under the headship of Dr.Silas Gyar to seek for the approval of the Governing Council of the Institution to engage the services of forty (40) lecturers, but feelers within the Polytechnic  reveals that 107 staff were engaged. It further unfolded that majority of those engaged are within the positions of cleaners, messengers and other supportive staff instead of engaging more of academic staff.

The last straw that broke the camel’s back was the lacuna surrounding the rules of engagement as the institution , according to insider paid the engaged staff N35,000 as against the approved N40,000 ,  and that the management of Nasarawa state polytechnic was accused of applying selectiveness in the payment of the monthly stipend.

Pundits revealed that some of the engaged staff is favored in terms of payment while others are relegated to the background,This development compelled one of the engaged staff to drag the management before Ombudsman (The Public Complaint Commission) over breach of contract,At the time of filing this report the school authority has taken the bold step to pay the complainants backlog of his salary.

The attempt to relieve the 107 engaged staff continued to generate a public outcry as academic activities in the school will soon be plunged into disarray, Many courses will suffer a serious crisis if stringent measure are not taken to settle the backlog of seven months salary owned 37 staff who were employed legally and are pensionable ,As further investigation unraveled that some of the affected staff are undergoing further studies abroad.

Out of the 32 staff, 15 are academic staff while 16 are non-academic staff, further information revealed that 204 academic staff are in the service of the polytechnic which is seriously understaffed. The chairman House committee on education ,Daniel Ogazi when contacted said he is not aware of the nonpayment of seven months salary of 32 staff.

Also the state Commissioner of Education,Ramatu Ajuji Abubakar when contacted on several occasions decline any knowledge of the problems  faced by the lecturers.

The nagging question that needed answer is this, what was the status of the affected 32 staff as handful of those employed the same date are still in the payroll of the polytechnic, The state Governor it could be recalled employed 22 civil servants in the state ministry of Works,Housing and Transport in 2014 while the state chairman of NLC,Comrade Abdullahi Adeka further unfolded that 40 persons were employed into the civil service without due regard to civil service criteria which include placing advertorial for vacancy and opportunity for employment.

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