The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) of the University of Ibadan (UI), on Monday, September 18, 2023, held a one-day fasting and prayer to seek divine intervention over the refusal of the nation’s Premier University to implement the approval of the Governing Council that extends its promotion to CONTISS 15.
According to the information gathered, the aggrieved technologists had been agitating for the implementation of the approval by the institution’s governing council to upgrade their promotion cadre from CONTISS 13 to 15.
The information revealed that the University is yet to implement the scheme of service as approved by Council on March 11, 2022, which mandates the institution to extend the grade level of the technologists’ cadre from CONTISS 13 to 15.
The members of the Union were unhappy that the 2022 promotion did not reflect the approval of the council regarding CONTISS 14 and 15. Also, the 2023 promotion advertisement currently released, which will close on October 20, 2023, does not feature CONTISS 14 and 15.
The Union is not comfortable that the 2022 promotion has not been completed because those that were supposed to be elevated to CONTISS 14 or 15 have not been considered, and is demanding that the authority complete the 2022 promotion exercise before commencing the 2023 promotion.
PrimeStar News gathered that the hope of NAAT members who have been stuck on CONTISS 13 for several years was dashed with the new promotion advertisement, which did not reflect the expected upgrade.
One of the NAAT’s members who spoke to PrimeStar News wondered why the University of Ibadan is not committed to the welfare of its staff, saying other universities have started promoting their colleagues to level 15.
She said, “Last year, the council removed the ceiling placed on our promotion, which stopped our promotion progression at level 13. The council approved that we should be allowed to get to grade level 15. The decision was taken on March 11, 2022, and we expected that by the time promotion is announced in 2022, grade levels 14 and 15 would be included. The university failed to do this. The University has advertised 2023 promotion now and grade levels 14 and 15 are omitted. This is not fair and that is why we have decided to dedicate today to fasting and prayer to cry to our God to touch the heart of the management so that it can do the needful.”
Another anonymous NAAT member said, “We hate violence and confrontation, except we are pushed to the wall. Our prayer centres on God touching the heart of the authority of our university to let this year’s promotion for our members be in line with the scheme of service as approved by the council on March 11, 2022.”
Among the Union’s prayer points is “God, we commit our case with the UI management into your hands. We pray that you fight our cause in Jesus Name.”
Another one stated, “We pray that God will touch their hearts concerning our members so that they will stop denying us our rights.”
However, efforts of PrimeStar News to get reactions to this development proved abortive as the institution’s Registrar, Ganiyu Oke Saliu did not respond to the messages and questions sent to him for clarification.
