National Association of Academic Technologists

About NAAT

The fundamental aims of the Union are to protect, defend, and promote the rights and well being and interests of all members and to advance the cause of members, employed in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions (Universities, Polytechnics, and Colleges of Education) generally.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF NAAT

The fundamental aims of the Union are to protect, defend, and promote the rights and wellbeing and interests of all members and to advance the cause of members, employed in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions (Universities, Polytechnics, and Colleges of Education) generally through the attainment of the following objectives:

To organize certified Technologists employed in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions;

To promote, defend, and advance the economic, political, and social well-being of Technologists;

To engage in collective bargaining with tertiary institutions Management and Government for the improvement of conditions of services of Technologists;

To promote cordial relationships between members and their employers;

Harness the technological, human, and material resources available within the tertiary institutions in the country for greater technological attainment of the Nigerian nation;

To continually enhance the quality of life and improve the income and other working conditions of members;

To foster the welfare and working environment and opportunities of Technologists employed in the services of the Nigerian Tertiary Institutions;

To continually promote members’ education, principally for developing their skills, productivity, social consciousness and for the empowerment of members in the society;

To promote and defend democracy, probity, and transparency in the Union at all levels and in governance;

To encourage members to participate at all levels of decision making of the Union;

To create and sustain technological awareness and reawakening in the society at large, especially the technological communities of the country;

To produce and publish scientific and technological journals for the benefit of members and the society;

To ensure viable base for the Union and the members by engaging in profitable business ventures, etc. jointly or severally owned with other establishments and these include;

Right to own property, mortgage, and disposal of same for the purpose of the attainment of the aims and objectives of the Union and members;

To print and publish literatures for the purpose of enhancing and achieving the aims and objectives of the Union and members;

To cooperate with other organizations with whom the Union may share common or specific interests for the attainment of common objectives;

To protect and defend the rights, including taking legal action on behalf of its member(s) whose appointment is wrongly dismissed/terminated, or unjustly treated in the course of carrying out his/her official/Union assignment; and

To undertake such other objectives as are lawful and are not inconsistent with the spirit and practice of the Trade Union Act.

Who are the Members of NAAT?

Eligibility for the membership of the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) is based on two planks:

1. The member must be a qualified and certified technologist. To qualify, the member must have gone through a four or five year training programme in recognized tertiary institution and awarded a Higher National Diploma (HND), Final Diploma of the Nigerian Institute of Science Laboratory Technology (NISLT), Bachelor of Technology (B.TECH.), Bachelor of Engineering (B. Eng.), Associate in Medical Laboratory Science (AIMLS) or their equivalent qualifications. In addition to the said academic qualifications, he/she must be registered and in possession of current license to practice issued by the relevant professional body established by statute.

2. The second plank for NAAT membership is that the technologist no matter his/her academic and professional qualifications must be employed in an academic department and unit of tertiary institutions such as the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education; their functions must be directly related to academic pursuits and programmes. In effect, technical workers in higher education institutions who may hold similar qualifications as NAAT members but are not involved in teaching and research in academic departments and units are not considered for membership.

It is significant to note as follows:

Holders of Ordinary National Diploma (OND) or equivalent qualifications may be employed and designated as Assistant Technologists in some institutions. They may advance in the technologists’ progression cadre only to the terminal level of Principal Technologist. It is important to note that staff in the junior progression cadre may progress to the equivalent position of Assistant Technologist but are designated Senior Laboratory Supervisors; they do not progress to the technologists’ cadre unless acceptable additional qualifications are acquired. This clarification is necessary because mistakes of inappropriate designation have occurred in the past because the Assistant Technologist and Senior Laboratory Supervisor are on the same salary grade level.

Membership of NAAT is not open to self-employed individuals whether or not they are certified professional technologists. (NAAT Constitution Rule 4.1 & 2).

A science degree holder who desires to practice as a technologist is required to register with the Nigerian Institute of Science Laboratory Technology, undergo some remedial training programme organized by the Institute in such areas as Laboratory Techniques, laboratory Management and Organization, equipment management, Laboratory Safety, Health, Environment and Security etc. in addition to induction as Associate Member of the Institute.

Our Ongoing Project

National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) Secretariat building project