Polytechnic students protest, block Bauchi -Jos highway

Students of Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic (ATAP) Bauchi on Tuesday embarked on a protest which resulted in the blockage of ever busy Bauchi-Jos Highway.

The protest by the students is sequel to the 14-day notice of total strike issued by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the five tertiary institutions owned by the Bauchi state Government which commenced on Tuesday.

The students who got to the school gate but we’re denied entry because of the total warning strike expressed dissatisfaction with the development.

Some of them who spoke to Journalists described the development as totally unacceptable considering the fact that they were about to start exams with some of them writing final exams.

They called on the concerned authorities to immediately open negotiations with the unions in order to resolve issues amicably before the expiration of the 14 days to avoid another total strike.

In order to forestall breakdown of law and order, Police personnel as well as other uniformed personnel were seen controlling the situation.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the five tertiary institutions owned by Bauchi State Government had earlier issued a notice of a 14-day warning strike action starting from Tuesday, 19th July, 2022.

Read also:Bauchi polytechnic suspends staff for allegedly campaigning for APC

The declaration was made in a notice dated 19th July 2022 with reference number JAC/BAU/Vol. 1/XXX signed by the Chairman of JAC, Abdulkadir Mohammed copies of which were made available to our correspondent.

The notice contained that, “Following the unfolding developments in the JAC struggle to regain our members entitlements from the Bauchi State Government, and as widely communicated to appropriate stakeholders in the State, the JAC formally extends this notice to you. The warning strike begins Tuesday 19th to Saturday 30th July, 2022”.

It further contained that, “Note that all academic and non-academic activities will be shutdown till further notice. This includes both primary and secondary assignment, including the consultancy services, staff schools, undergraduate programmes, administrative activities and what have you”.

“We urged you to maximally comply to this struggle until our demands are made insha Allah. May Allah (SWT) come to our aid. Thanks as the JAC anticipates your cooperation and continuous prayers for successes”, the statement concluded.

The affected institutions are Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic Bauchi ;A.D. Rafai College for Legal and Islamic Studies Misau; Bauchi I State College of Agriculture Bauchi, Aminu Saleh College of Education , Azare and Adamu Tafawa Balewa College of Education, Kangere.

At the Ministry of Education, no official was ready to react to the development as the Commissioner, Dr Aliyu Usman Tilde was said to be out of office when our correspondent visited.

By Yemi Kanji

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