Breaking: Plateau Polytechnic Students Protest Postponement Of Semester Examinations
Yakubu Busari
Following the declaration by the Joint Union of Academic Staff of Plateau State-owned tertiary institutions, to embark on an indefinite industrial action demanding the non-payments of their salary and arrears staff commenced strike on Monday.
The State Chairman Comrade Lumye Innocent Simji explained that the industrial action was due to the state government’s failure to reach an agreement earlier signed with the state tertiary institutions on the Plateau.
According to him, the Union scheduled the 17th of September, 2021 to push for monthly salary and arrears of staff of which the agreement entered was abandoned by Governor Simon Bako Lalong.
However, students of the Plateau State Polytechnic on Monday 20th September 2021 arrived at the school campus set to commence their semester examination, but the news made available to them was that the examination had been canceled due to the pronouncement by academic staff of another strike.
In the student’s aftermath of information, they embarked on a protest barricading major roads that connect Abuja, Bauchi, Kaduna, and Taraba States.
The protesters said they’re supposed to be in the halls writing their semester exams when the ugly reality of the strike action hit them, causing them setbacks again as their school gates were completely barricaded.
These angry protesters bashed vehicles, attacking innocent passersby when the students took to the streets in protest.
The provoked students blocked the major road leading from the state secretariat’s junction down to the old airport junction causing serious traffic and hardship on motorists who had to maneuver in difficult alternative routes.
The unions are having three major demands which are the issues of a) Salary consolidation through minimum wage implementation b) Deduction of remittance from cooperative c) State Health contributory scheme deduction by the agency.
Meanwhile, the government has been in negotiations with the union leaders, with further.
In an effort to speak to the commissioner for information, Hon Dan Majang proved abortive as he didn’t answer his calls at the time of filing of this report.
