30-month salary arrears: NBTE withdraws Abia Poly accreditation

For its default in the payment of staff salaries and allowances for over 30 months, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has withdrawn the accreditation of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba.

NBTE explained that regular payment of salary was one of a key component of the board’s normative instruments for quality assurance in the Polytechnics, Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.

The Head, Media Department, NBTE, Hajiya Fatima Abubakar, in a statement issued in Kaduna on Tuesday, said that the accreditation was withdrawn because the polytechnic had not shown any commitment to offset the arrears and ensure regular payment of salaries.

She also said that the board had drawn the attention of the polytechnic’s management to the dangers inherent in non-payment of salaries, including the suspension of quality assurance visits.

Abubakar also said that the governing council and management of the polytechnic made several failed promises to settle the backlog of salary arrears.

“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.

“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.

“It is also to ensure that students are not left at the mercy of demotivated staff that may resort to under the table practices to survive,” she said.

Abubakar said the board had written to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), not to mobilise any graduate of the polytechnic for its national service until the institution remedies the problem.

The statement said that the NBTE would notify the NYSC when the accreditation status was restored.

She also said the board also sent similar notice of the withdrawal of the accreditation to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund; Industrial Training Fund to stop any official transaction with the polytechnic.

“Polytechnic proprietors across the country are also advised to take regular payment of salaries of staff seriously as failure can lead to loss of accreditation,” Abubakar said.

The Star