The Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, has lost its accreditation from the National Board for Technical Education – NBTE.
This is because the institution had not paid its staff salaries and other entitlements for more than 30 months, NBTE said, adding that the school had not shown any commitment to offsetting the backlog of arrears and ensure regular payment of salaries.
“It is, therefore, with utmost sense of responsibility that the board has decided to withdraw the accreditation status of the polytechnic to safeguard the quality assurance mechanism of the board,” NBTE spokesperson, Fatima Abubakar, said.
NBTE explained that the governing council and management of the polytechnic made several attempts to reach a deal with the Abia State government on how to pay the salary arrears but they all proved abortive.
Regular payment of salaries is an integral component of the board’s normative instruments for quality assurance evaluation in the technical, vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, NBTE said.
Before withdrawing the institution’s accreditation, NBTE drew the attention of the management of the polytechnic and that of the state government to the consequences of non-payment of salaries, which included suspension of quality assurance visits.
“The board went the extra mile of writing to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, informing him of the dire situation of the polytechnic, but all to no avail,” NBTE spokesperson added.
Recall that in May this year the National universities Commission, NUC, withdrew accreditation for the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the Abia State University, citing near-state of inactivity of the teaching hospital, occasioned by its deplorable state and poor welfare condition of workers as reasons for the decision.
