The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ASUU

  • ASUU strike: Jonathan meets Suswam, others

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday met with Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam and some ministers at the Presidential Villa on the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    Suswam is chairing the Universities’ Needs’ Implementation Committee, whose mandate is to resolve the present crisis between the union and the Federal Government as well as ensure adequate provision for the universities.

    But there was no official statement at the end of the closed-door meeting.

    None of those at the meeting, including Suswam, Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Labour and Productivity Minister, Mr Emeka Wogu, addressed reporters at the end of the meeting.

    But Education Minister, Prof. Ruqqayat Rufa’I, told reporters that the government was still negotiating with ASUU.

    She urged the union to call off the strike.

    “I have not been mandated to speak to journalists on the matter, but I can tell you that we are on course. I will only appeal to ASUU to call off the strike in the interest of the nation,” she said.

     

  • ‘ASUU cannot invalidate Post-UTME’

    THE Academic Staff Union Of Universities (ASUU)has no power to invalidate the Post Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (Post-UTME) conducted by any institution, the Deputy Vice Chancellor(Academics) of the Federal University Technology (FUT), Minna, Professor Abdullahi Bala, has declared.

    Bala was reacting to threats by ASUU not to recognise the outcome of the Post-UTME being conducted in various universities due to its four- week old strike.

    ASUU argued that conducting an examination is the duty of academic staff, warning students not to sit for the tests.

    But Bala dismissed the threat, saying the conduct of Post- UTME is the exclusive responsibility of the office of the Vice Chancellor, not ASUU.

    Arguing that Vice Chancellors are the chief admission officers of their institutions, Bala explained that Post-UTME candidates are not yet consideredbonafide students of any university.

    He insisted ASUU can only lay claim to students that have already been admitted.

    Justifying the 2-day conduct of Post-UTME test for over 4,000 prospective candidates of FUT at GidanKwano campus in Minna, the DVC told reporters the management of the university recognises and appreciates ASUU’s plight in the on-going strike.

    He however warned that the body should not go beyond its limit, stressing that admission is purely an administrative matter.

    Bala disclosed that for successful conduct of the test in the institution, a committee of senior staff, who are not expected to join the industrial action, was set up for the exercise while non-academic staff supervised it.

    The DVC assured the candidates not to exercise fears over ASUU threats, saying the examination being conducted has not fallen short of any law capable of leading to its cancellation or invalidation.

    The Academic Staff Union of the institution had threatened not to recognise the candidates if the authority went ahead with the exercise, which kicked off last Friday.

    Over 4,000 candidates are undergoing screening at the university under the supervision of non- academic staff.

    The exercise ends on Tuesday.

     

  • For students’ sake

    For students’ sake

    The ongoing strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU is yet another sad development in the education sector of the country. In recent years, universities have suffered one crisis or the other that has resulted in the declining quality of graduates.

    Lack of adequate budget allocation and necessary facilities has turned many government universities to glorified secondary schools and it is no surprise that our institutions are not among the best even in the continent.

    Disruption of the academic calendar for one reason or the other has become so frequent that students are no longer sure when they will graduate. A four-year course in some instances now last for six years or more.

    Despite the increase in the numbers of private universities whose fees are not affordable by many parents, the federal and state universities have been unable to cope with the growing numbers of applicants. Some parents have resorted to sending their children to foreign universities abroad and neighbouring countries.

    University teachers and other stakeholders have always drawn attention to the worsening situation with successive governments promising to address the situation. Past ASUU strikes have always been called off based on agreements which unfortunately have not been honoured by the government.

    The current strike which the union claims is due to the non implementation of parts of the agreement signed in 2009 would have been avoided if the government had not reneged on its promise.

    As it is, it is uncertain when the strike would be called off considering the apparent breakdown in negotiations between the government and union officials. For once, ASUU seems determined to ensure that the government makes concrete commitment this time around and is not leaving anyone in doubt that its members will stay away from the classrooms for as long as necessary to ensure that their demands are met.

    For too long, the government has paid lip service to improving the education standards at all levels. Budgetary allocations at state and federal levels have been too low to match the needs of the sector which is very crucial to the overall development of the country.

    If indeed the issue at stake is the annual release of N400bn for three years as intervention fund for public universities in the country is what is at stake in the strike which commenced on July 1, the government has to find a way of honouring the agreement even if it cannot release the whole amount as earlier agreed.

    There is no doubt that the universities need the intervention funds to address a lot of various challenges that is making a mockery of the university education being offered in the country.

    The infrastructures, in many of the universities are not only inadequate; some have become obsolete for the kind of education students need to meet the required standard for employment and other endeavours.

    How do we justify the situation where some graduates cannot defend the certificates they supposedly acquired after years of study. The decline in standard of teaching and research in universities is alarming and something urgent has to be done to reverse the slide.

    However, for the sake of students who are the victims of the strike, ASUU must be a bit flexible in its negotiation. While insisting on its demands being met, it must be willing to shift grounds on some issues which may not be easily resolved in a hurry under the present situation.

    The strike must not be allowed to last longer than necessary if we are not to further disrupt the academic calendar for 2012/2013 which is already behind schedule and has greater consequence for especially final year students.

  • Varsity lecturers’ strike to continue – ASUU

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities has dismissed reports that the ongoing teachers’ strike in the nation’s ivory towers would be suspended on Thursday.

    It alleged that the reports were planted by government agents.

    The union insisted that it would continue with the strike unless the Federal Government implements the 2009 agreement.

    In a briefing held at the Lagos State University, Ojo, ASUU Ibadan Zone also faulted the National Universities Commission (NUC) for allegedly stampeding vice chancellors to hurriedly conduct the Post –UTME test, using non teaching staff ostensibly to meet deadlines in universities’ calendar.

     

     

  • ASUU warns candidates on Post-UTME

    ASUU warns candidates on Post-UTME

    The striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that successful candidates at the various 2013 post-UTME examinations to government owned Universities may not be recognised if offered admission from the exercise.

    The union also described as cheap “political statement” the pronouncement of Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State that the strike would be over on Thursday, insisting that the strike would only be suspended if government implements all the components in the 2009 agreement and the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

    Disclosing these in Minna on Wednesday, the Chairman of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, ASUU chapter, Dr. Abdulfatai Jimoh, said that none of its members would be involved in the conduct the post-UTME for over 3000 candidates slated for Friday and Saturday in the institution.

    Jimoh, who was briefing journalists on the level of compliance by his members to the industrial action, warned that “any student admitted through the on-going Post-UTME is on his or her own because we would not recognise or teach such student.”

    According to him, “if the management goes ahead to conduct the post-UTME, none of the lecturers who are members of ASUU would not participate in the exercise and the students if admitted would not be recognized by the lecturers.”

     

  • ASUU Benin Zone insists on strike

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Benin Zone, has said it will not call off the strike, unless the Federal Government implements the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement.

    The Benin Zone comprises of the University of Benin, the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Delta State University, Abraka, Niger Delta University and the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun.

    It said the antidote to the crisis bedevilling Nigerian universities was the 2009 agreement and the lack of respect for last year’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) .

    The Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Sunny Ighalo, said the problems of Nigeria universities were underfunding and deliberate neglect by the government.

    He said: “The 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement is fundamentally meant to apprehend these problems and restore our universities to the path of progress and reckoning.”

  • UNIOSUN workers threaten to join ASUU strike

    Academic workers at the Osun State University (UNIOSUN) are threatening to join the nationwide strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    The ASUU Chairman at UNIOSUN, Dr. Oluseye Abiona, told reporters in Osogbo, the state capital, that the union members agreed at their last congress to support the ongoing indefinite strike of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union.

    Dr Abiona regretted the failure of the state and the Federal Government to honour the 2009 agreement the government entered into with ASUU.

    He said: “Instead of toeing the path of honour, what Nigerians are witnessing is political brigandage.”

    The union leader said none of his members at UNIOSUN had enjoyed 56 working days’ statutory leave, which they are entitled to, since the inception of the university.

    He said: “The Osun State University has no operational condition of service. Appointments, promotions, emolument of our members are arbitrarily determined with impunity. Our colleagues at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, an institution jointly owned and co-financed by the Osun and Oyo State Governments, are enjoying hazard allowance with the exclusion of the ASUU at UNIOSUN.

     

     

     

     

  • Can ASUU get it right for once?

    SIR: You can’t judge a book by its cover – but you can tell a lot from the title. The disposition of Federal Government and state governments to the ongoing ASUU strike is not only disappointing but also a coward attempt to destroy the future of the Nigerian youth. If government is deceitful, ASUU will be more deceitful and callous to call off the strike when the agreement is not fully implemented.

    The proper word to describe the condition of our public universities is not ‘disintegration’ but ‘degeneration’ without any hope of redemption in the near future unless the government at all levels muster courage to salvage what is left. How long shall we keep the institutions alive on artificial oxygen and that, too, at the expense of the future of Nigerian youth? How long shall we keep pretending that all is well and that ASUU is only seeking pay rise? How long should we allow the business men and women in government to trade the future of our children in their spurious attempt to build business empires?

    Three things are basically responsible for the worsening situation of our universities. One, children of the policy makers and the power brokers that dictate what becomes of our educational system do not attend public universities. Their wards are either in private ones or abroad. Two, many of the power brokers and policy makers are proprietors of private universities. Any betterment of the public ones would affect their patronage and profits. Three, ASUU’s approach to negotiations give impression that the union seeks momentary attention. These three facts are glaring and would not allow the government to develop a road map toward revamping our shameful educational system.

    In the wake of the mushrooming of private institutions and reckless setting up of private universities as a result of myopic legislation in our country, there is an increasing demand that the NUC and other regulatory bodies must step in to check the rot by calling on the government to be more responsible. It is hypocritical and laughable that Gabriel Suswan-led committee on Needs Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities could wait until ASUU went on strike to become visible. It is a deceit and bait; that would not go beyond normal rounds of talks.

    There is no other better opportunity for President Goodluck Jonathan to show he is both serious and committed to the nation’s education than now. At least two urgent issues need to be addressed as aggressively as possible lest Nigerians begin to cast aspersion not just on his person but also his government. His government is noted for parading ministers of high academic achievement but nothing to show for such. His government is equally known for exposing Nigerian youths to crimes and prostitution by deliberately forcing them out of the campuses in order to breed more thugs and child-brides. It is unthinkable that a government could be so comfortable to allow Polytechnics and universities to frequently embark on strike because of nonchalance and lack of focus on the government side.

    No doubt ASUU’s strike is becoming boring and irrelevant. The situation where the union goes on strike for months and returns to work when the reasons that necessitated the strike action were not met is counter-productive and meaningless. Why the strike in the first instance?

    ASUU’s strength and commitment to revamping the educational system is measured by the results of this particular strike. Should the lecturers call off or suspend the strike (when the agreement is not implemented) and declare another strike in future due to non-implementation of the agreement, Nigerian will be left with no option than to move against ASUU. It is either now or never to save the public universities. ASUU must bear in mind that the world is watching and its failure at this time will change public perception about the motive of the union.

     

    • Tola Osunnuga,

    Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State

     

  • FG, ASUU talks inconclusive

    *Parties yet to agree on two issues

    *Strike may be called off next week, says Suswam

     

    The meeting to resolve the crisis between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, could not be concluded on friday.

    Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam was drafted by government to Head the implementation of Needs Assessment Report on Nigerian Universities.

    Suswam, who spoke with journalists last night in Abuja after about six hours meeting, disclosed that there were still pending issues to be resolved next week before the ASUU strike could be called off.

    According to him, there are still two knotty issues to be resolved including earned allowance and funding of university education in view of the infrastructural deficit in the university system.

    Apart from the two unresolved issues, he said that all other issues raised by ASUU have been agreed upon by the two sides.

    While the SGF would meet with ASUU leadership on Monday towards resolving the issue of earned allowance, he said that he would lead his committee on Implementation of Needs Assessment to meet with ASUU on Thursday to finalize issues on funding.

    He was optimistic that all the two pending issues would be resolved next week in order for ASUU to call off the strike.

    Assuring that his Committee would leave no stone unturned to ensure that there was sustained funding for Nigerian universities, he lamented the present rot in the Nigerian Universities.

    Speaking earlier in his opening remark at the meeting, Senator Anyim reiterated the determination of the Federal Government to resolve the crisis so that the lecturers can return to classroom.

    He said: “Our meeting today is blessed with injection of new hands, new faces and new minds. It is expected that our meeting today will be fruitful because we would have more hands helping us to resolve what is outstanding”.

    “You might also recalled that the implementation committee of Needs Assessment Report to Nigerian Universities was just inaugurated. The Chairman of that Committee is Governor Gabriel Suswam. After the inauguration of that committee, we appealed to him to join us in this meeting that is following soon after.

    “On this note, I am convinced that their desire to see this matter resolved is simply because of their commitment to national progress,” he stated.

  • Strike: No renegotiation with FG – ASUU

    Strike: No renegotiation with FG – ASUU

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Thursday said it would not renegotiate with the Federal Government if the previous agreement is not implemented.

    Unlike many other African countries that vote significantly for education funding on annual basis, the union members said Nigeria votes the least budget to education, while pumping huge sums to irrelevant projects that do not encourage research and development.

    Compared to the academics, local government councilors earn even more than professors, just as Nigerian legislators receive salaries that triple those of the professors who trained them in schools.

    The ASUU members made the position known at the Paul Hendrickse Hall of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, venue of a symposium entitled: “Education, Research and Development in Nigeria.”

    In attendance were the national treasurer of the union and former Chairman, UI branch, Dr. Ademola Aremu, incumbent Chairman Dr. Segun Ajiboye, Prof. Millicent Obajimi (former Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association), Dr. Abass Abdulsalaam and Dr. Femi Afolabi, among others.

    They maintained that demands for full implementation of the agreement with the government were unshaken.