Lecturers and students were rushing to the Akwa Ibom Polytechnic for early morning lectures like every other day on Thursday but were surprised that the Non-Academic staff union barricaded the gates, demanding a 65-year retirement age like their academic staff counterparts. A lecturer at Akwa Ibom Polytechnic accused them of just being jealous.
Obviously, the Non-Academic union saw how the academic staff were granted 65 years of retirement age, and the professors 70 years of retirement age, so they felt cheated. They too wanted to serve in the polytechnic for 65 years just like the academic staff and maintain their salaries till that time.
So, the union took to the gates at the dawn of Thursday, September 12, 2024, to block the entrance to lecturers and students alike. They held banners that read, “Please come and salvage the situation by directing the implementation of 65 years of retirement age.”
It took the special intervention of the Chief Security Officer of the school’s polytechnic to salvage the situation and order that the gates be thrown open.
The protest was forcefully dismissed and the Non-Academic staff union still hasn’t gotten their wish answered.
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A lecturer of the Akwa Ibom Polytechnic who observed the scene dismissed the concerns of the union as mere jealousy towards the academic staff. In his words, “The strike is a case of jealousy against the academic staff who were granted 65 years as retirement age”.
He believed that the Non-Academic staff union crossed their boundaries by locking the polytechnic’s gates, so he offered an explanation of the root of their grievances to anyone who cared to listen, saying, “In the university system professors are given 70 years as retirement age.”
“Other academic staff are given 65 years. The other five years are for research and book writing to allow them to give back to the academic community their experiences over the years before they retire.”
“If the non-academic staff want 65 years, they should change their status to academic staff and enjoy such privilege. They should also write books to contribute to knowledge in the academic community.”
