Aggrieved graduates of the Adamawa State Polytechnic, Yola, sets of 2023/2024 and 2025, on Monday, staged a peaceful protest at the Rector’s office over the delay in their accreditation processes.
The protesters, who lamented that the attitude of the school management in handling their affairs is a clear indication of frustrating their future, called on the State Government to urgently intervene.
It was however a tense atmosphere as the graduates expressed frustration over the failure of the institution to upload their accreditation details on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) portal.
They claimed that the situation has left many qualified graduates stranded, unable to participate in the mandatory national service year, which is a key requirement for employment in Nigeria.
New Telegraph reliably gathered that students currently in HND I, as well as those just completed their programmes this year, also joined in the protest, fearing they may suffer the same fate upon graduation.
Unanimous view disclosed that the protest was orchestrated mostly by students from the Science Laboratory Technology (SLT) and Biochemistry departments.
Sources further revealed that the HND SLT programme has been running since 2021 without full accreditation from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), despite the institution having graduated two sets of students and preparing to admit a third set.
According to the protesters, the accreditation gap has rendered many graduates ineligible for NYSC mobilisation, as the NBTE strictly requires that only graduates from fully accredited programmes are cleared for the national service scheme .
Mohammed Shuaibu, who spoke with New Telegraph, expressed dismay that “many letters were written, asked questions several times, as well as making enquiries and sought answers from the school management”.
Shuaibu noted that the only response we keep getting from the management is, “We will do it soon, yet nothing has changed until today, it seems our years and efforts in the school are wasted.
Addressing the protesters, the Rector Professor Mohammed Toungos commended the protesters for their maturity and peaceful conduct throughout the demonstration.
He assured them that the management had heard their grievances and would expedite action toward resolving the lingering issues of certificate issuance and accreditation.
The Rector also promised to engage with the NBTE and other relevant authorities to fast-track the accreditation process for the affected programmes.
The protesters, who later marched to the Government House, hoping to draw the attention of Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri were bluntly turned away by security personals and not allowed to enter.
