The teachers who work at polytechnics, which are special schools for learning skills, in Nigeria are unhappy. These teachers are part of a group called the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) at a school called Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
They are upset because the government has made new rules for them called the Scheme of Service (SOS). This change affects how their jobs work and how they can get promotions. Because of this, the ASUP group from all over Nigeria has told the government they have just 15 days to take back these new rules, or they will stop working.
To show they are unhappy, the teachers at Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic had a peaceful protest in Lafia. They walked around and talked about why they think the new rules are not fair.
One of the main people in the group, Dr. Illah Obadiah, spoke to reporters. He said the new rules would make it very hard for polytechnic schools to work well. He felt that making it necessary for teachers to learn new skills just to keep their jobs was not fair.
Dr. Obadiah also pointed out some other problems with the new rules. He said these rules were not fair to teachers with a High National Diploma (HND) because they were treated worse than those with university degrees. He said, “It’s like a company saying their own products are not good enough.”
He also mentioned problems with how other important jobs at the school, like registrars and librarians, would be filled under the new rules. He believed that the new plan didn’t treat these jobs fairly either.
Dr. Obadiah said that the new rules seem to attack the careers of polytechnic teachers. The new rules say it will take 26 years for a polytechnic teacher to reach the top, but it only takes 18 to 20 years for teachers at universities or colleges.
Lots of ASUP groups all over Nigeria are standing together to say they do not like these new rules from the government.