Polytechnic Workers Reject NBTE Revised Scheme of Service Over Career Progression Concerns

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics has rejected the revised schemes of service for polytechnics presented by the National Board for Technical Education during a recent stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja.

The union’s National President, Philip Ogunsipe, disclosed this in a statement, noting that the association formally communicated its position through a minority report submitted to the Minister of Education, Dr. Moruf Alausa.

According to the union, the reviewed scheme introduces significant disparities between teaching and non-teaching staff at the entry level of employment, a development it described as unfair and contrary to established public service standards.

SSANIP argued that the new structure would hinder career progression for non-teaching staff, particularly by preventing employees with first degrees from advancing to CONTEDISS 15, which corresponds to Grade Level 17 in the public service hierarchy.

Ogunsipe stated that documentary evidence from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission confirming the existence and recognition of the CONTEDISS 15 structure, as well as supporting documents from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, were allegedly disregarded during deliberations despite their relevance.

The union also criticized remarks reportedly made by the Chairman of the Committee of Heads of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology of Nigeria suggesting that rectors and certain categories of non-teaching staff should not retire on the same grade levels. SSANIP described the comment as discriminatory, elitist, and inconsistent with public service regulations.

With the submission of its minority report, the association declared a vote of no confidence in the ability of the NBTE to produce a fair and balanced scheme of service for polytechnics. The union accused the regulatory body of persistent bias and failure to adhere to existing public service guidelines.

SSANIP appealed to the Minister of Education to objectively review its concerns in the interest of fairness, industrial harmony, and compliance with established rules governing public service. The association expressed confidence in the minister’s leadership and urged him to ensure that benefits available to staff in universities and colleges of education are not denied to their counterparts in polytechnics.

The union further rejected the decision reached at the stakeholders’ meeting to exclude the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation from the process of preparing and approving the schemes of service. It described the move as counterproductive and warned that it would not support any arrangement that undermines due process and institutional balance.