ABSTRACT:

In Nigeria, Polytechnics have played relatively vital role in the growth of industries and local technology. However, the full potential of Polytechnics as the seed crop of industrial development and socio-economic growth had not been fully harnessed. Even though there are numerous Polytechnic institutions in Nigeria, the capacity to deliver has been constrained by a number of challenges to academic staff development. This paper discusses eleven challenges to achieving and sustaining academic staff development in Nigerian Polytechnics: (1) Improper Assessment of Needs ; (2) Policy; (3) Funding; (4) Lack of training infrastructure and problems of capacity building; (5) Lack of administrative willingness and capacity to drive academic staff development; (6) Ethnicity; (7) Funding; (8) Corruption and Nepotism; (9) Strikes; (10) Technology/ Energy problems; and (11) Low Level of interest in research/development of local initiatives. The paper recommends that a strategic framework for academic staff development should be put in place with a view to enhancing continuous improvement of teaching and learning processes of academic staff in line with global trends.