From Abel Leonard, Lafia
The Nasarawa State House of Assembly Committee on Education has appealed to the management of Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic (IMAP) Lafia to consider academic and non-academic casual staff working in the institution for a long period before considering other fresh applicants in its ongoing employments.
This was disclosed on Tuesday by Hon Daniel Ogazi, Chairman, House Committee on Education, at the Nasarawa state House of Assembly, when the management of the polytechnic appeared before the committee for its 2021 budget assessment today in Lafia.
Ogazi said that considering the casual lecturers and other staff was in the interest of justice, fairness, peace and for the overall development of the polytechnic.
‘We want to commend you for being up and doing in taking the institution to the greater height.
‘On the issue of the ongoing employment in the institution, we want to urge you to consider and give priority to those casual lecturers and other staff that are working for a long period of time in the institution.
‘Some of them are working under casual for five, eight, ten and even eleven years.
‘And now that the government has approved employment, I call on you to absorb casual lecturers and other staff first before you consider fresh applicants, you have professionals and capable hands that are working for you before now, consider them first,’ he said.
‘I want to appeal to fresh applicants to be patient as the exercise will be in batches,’ he added.
Ogazi has also called on the state government to give more attention to the development of the institution.
‘I want to call on the executive to consider education as the bedrock of development and the strength of the state, especially higher and technical education.’
He said that the committee would continue to collaborate with the government in order to take the institution to the next level of development.
Earlier, Dr Justina Kotso, Rector of the Polytechnic while presenting the institution’s budget performance has commended the committee for the support the institution is enjoying and called for its sustenance.
She said that a total of 5,540 applicants have applied for the 100 vacancies approved by the government.
‘We have screened and have gotten 767 qualified applicants, out of which about 400 first-class applied for the job,’ she said.
Kotso said that the management under her watch has installed solar power in the school’s library and ICT centre as well as installation of CCTV cameras to improve security and other academic activities.
‘We have also strengthened our registration portal in order to block linkages and wastages as perimeter fencing is ongoing in the institution,” she added.
The Rector called on the students not to allow themselves to be used to cause violence and crisis in the institution but continue to be law-abiding for development to thrive.
She identified funding as a major challenge facing the institution, adding that His Excellency, Gov Abdullahi Sule is doing his best in taking the institution to the next level of development, she noted.