Chairman of the Kaduna Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic, ASUP, Aliyu Ibrahim, has said he has been operating his office as a polytechnic lecturer from under a mango tree for the past 18 years.
He decried the lack of infrastructural projects in Nigerian institutions, saying he has not had an office due to infrastructural deficit in the institution.
He made this known while speaking with journalists in the state on Tuesday, urging the Federal Government to address the challenges of infrastructure affecting polytechnics in the country.
According to him, nothing has changed in terms of infrastructure since he graduated from the institution in 1994.
Ibrahim said, “I am privileged to be talking to you in this office today because am ASUP chairman but my office is under the mango tree.
“I do not have an office since I joined the institution 18 years ago. I seat under the mango tree.
“If my students or anybody wants to see me, he must either meet me in the class or strategically position himself and wait for me to pass by.
“The lack of infrastructure and having to work from under the tree is affecting the motivation of staff in the school.
“Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, has not been fair to polytechnics in Nigeria when it comes to infrastructural intervention because if f TETFund gives university N200 million, for example, it will give polytechnic N50 million for infrastructure.
“Nigeria is a developing economy and needs the middle class of manpower to develop the economy.
“The essence of polytechnic education is to bring out middle class operations in terms of technological advancement, design implementation and even research.
“The lack of infrastructure in the system is hampering the ability of the middle class to deliver,” Ibrahim said.
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