IRELE (Osun) – The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) on Tuesday urged management of polytechnics to encourage their academic staff to upgrade their knowledge to promote education in the country.
Mr Dotun Omisore, the ASUP Chairman, Osun Polytechnic, Iree Chapter, made the call while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Iree, Osun state.
Omisore noted that government always made funds available for training of staff, and urged that the funds should be used for the purpose for which it was meant.
“An institution is only as good as the quality of the lecturers it parades at
any given time, which is why government approves funds for training in
the budget estimates.
“If money has been budgeted for such training, it should be natural for administrators to make such available for those who have the task of imparting knowledge.
“The fact that polytechnics are meant to drive technological development of the nation makes it imperative for teachers in such institutions to be up to date,’’ he said.
He lamented instances where lecturers use manuals from their own days as students to teach in this technologically advanced age.
The chairman said that many of the applications, which such lecturers referred to, had been upgraded from the manual process, as well as many of the equipment they were used to have become obsolete.
Omisore stressed that the fact that the lecturers guilty of such practices did such was pathetic and was as a result of lack of continuous updating of knowledge.
“As a union and as independent lecturers, we encourage ourselves to
broaden our horizon through new courses and conferences,’’ he said.
He said that if all the funds meant for training were used for such, “lecturers will be glad to take advantage of local and foreign courses alongside other scholarships that abound’’. (NAN)
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