By Peter Omopo | September 14, 2025
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has announced plans to meet with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) over a controversial directive that could see lecturers without master’s degrees downgraded to non-academic staff.
The directive, contained in a September 10 circular signed by NBTE’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje, and addressed to rectors and provosts of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, stipulates that academic staff without a master’s degree after five years of employment would be converted to non-teaching roles.
Bugaje, in the circular, expressed concern that many lecturers employed with first degrees or Higher National Diplomas had failed to upgrade their qualifications. He said the measure was necessary to align polytechnic teaching standards with global best practices.
“Any academic staff member who fails to acquire a master’s after five years of employment shall be converted from academic staff to non-teaching staff,” the circular read in part.
Reacting to the development, ASUP National President, Shammah Kpanja, told Sunday PUNCH in Abuja that the union had only recently sighted the directive and was working to confirm its authenticity.
“We just saw the circular like everybody else. You know letters from NBTE usually carry a QR code. When we checked this one, we discovered it may not have originated from the NBTE. But whether it is genuine or not, our union will meet and take a position on it,” he said.
Kpanja stressed that the NBTE’s reported move was inconsistent with the existing scheme of service that governs employment conditions, promotion, and career progression of academic staff.
“As a union, we encourage scholarship and productivity. We support members in attaining higher qualifications. But we must also ensure that directives align with the guidelines for appointment and promotion of academic staff. Anything outside that framework cannot stand,” he added.
The controversy comes on the heels of a recent NBTE directive mandating principal lecturers in polytechnics to obtain doctoral degrees within three years, also citing the national scheme of service as justification.
With the union poised to resist what it views as a disruptive policy, the standoff between ASUP and the NBTE sets the stage for a potentially heated debate on the future of polytechnic education in Nigeria.
