The Nigerian government has approved the establishment of three new federal polytechnics in the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, the government said the establishment of the new institutions was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s determination to make tertiary education more accessible.
According to the statement issued by Ben Bem Goong, the director of press and public relations, federal ministry of education, the polytechnics are to be sited in Umunnoechi in Abia State, Orogun in Delta State and Kabo in Kano State.
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This brings to 36 the number of federal polytechnics in the country, as each state now has one. The new institutions are to commence academic activities in October 2022.
The approval for the new polytechnics comes amid threats by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUP) to embark on an indefinite strike over the poor state of the existing ones.
Anderson Ezeibe, president, ASUP, had said the demands of the union border on infrastructure development, review of laws and acts governing polytechnic education in Nigeria and regulation, the unending dichotomy between university and polytechnic certificates, improved conditions of service for teaching staff, and the overall need to reposition technological education for national development.
