The Nation Newspaper

Tag: COEASU

  • College of Education teachers protest against Wike

    College of Education teachers protest against Wike

    MEMBERS of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, on Friday trooped out to protest what they called the ‘maladministration’ of the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike.

    Taking a swipe at the minister for his performance in office so far, the union’s former National President, Comrade Remi Makinde, said it would have been logical if Wike holds the office of “Special Adviser to the President on Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s affairs” rather than be in an office that decides the future of all Nigerian students.

    During the protest, the lecturers expressed their anger over the ongoing strike which is now in its fourth month.

    The lecturers during the protest which was led by the chapter’s chairman, Dr. Samuel Akintunde, carried placards with different inscriptions such as “IPPIS is repugnant; Jonathan should respond to the cries of the masses; FG should safe education from drowning.”

    The protest was initially disrupted by men of the Nigerian Police led by Mr. Emmanuel Okoi, a Chief Superintendent of Police, who prevented the teachers from obstructing the free flow of vehicles along the Akure-Ondo-Ore-Lagos road.

    Explaining the rationale behind their agitation, Akintunde said the objective is to improve the academic standard of the students.

    The COEASU chairman noted that the Federal Government has been recalcitrant in addressing their grievances, stressing that the government has only met with the lecturers twice, adding that on these two occasions, it was different groups who represented the government on the dialogue table.

    He declared, “Our fight is about bringing up quality education in Nigeria. The Federal Government prefers dialoguing with university lecturers but neglect other stakeholders in the education sector.

    “We are saying that it is high time all these things changed. Secondary schools workshops and laboratories are better than those ones in Nigeria’s Colleges of Education,” he lamented.

     

  • College COEASU gives condition to reverse strike

    The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, (COEASU), Nwafor Orizu College of Education Nusgbe (NOCEN), Anambra State, has said it will not call off its one month-old strike unless members demands are met by the Provost.

    The union’s decision followed a closed-door general meeting at Ugo Hotel, Nusgbe in Anambra East local government area of the State.

    The Anambra State College of Education joined the national body’s strike on February 3, this year, an action which did not go down well with the Acting Provost, Dr. Clara O. Obiagwu.

    The development led to Dr Obiagwu’s alleged suspension of COEASU Chairman Comrade Vincent C. Asalu.

    Obiagwu also queried the union’s secretary Comrade U.A.C. Ugharumba for reminding members that COEASU has joined the strike with the union parent body though, it did not start with COEASU national on December 18, last year.

    The Acting Provost then went ahead to direct that the January salary of the chairman and secretary be stopped against pleas by the national and zonal officers of the union and the college academic board.

    In a communiqué by both Asalu and U.A.C. Ugharumba shortly after its meeting, COEASU vowed not to call off the strike unless Obiagwu reverses her actions in writing.

    COEASU described Obiagwu’s actions as an infringement of the fundamental right of members as provided for in Nigeria constitution (1999 as amended) and the provision of the Trade Union Act.

    The union insists that Obiagwu pays in full the January salary of the union leaders and lifts the purported ban on COEASU in NOCEN. It also demanded that all outstanding check- off dues deducted from members’ salary should be remitted to the union’s account, adding that the management must, henceforth, commit itself to constant payment of the monthly check-off, and stop forthwith members’ victimisation.

    The union, however, expressed dissatisfaction that a reader in NOCEN receive less salary than his counterpart in other colleges of Education, calling for immediate ratification.

     

  • Lecturers hail Fashola

    Lecturers hail Fashola

    The Colleges of Education Academics Staff Union (COEASU) and the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED), Noforija-Epe, have hailedLagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola for releasing the first tranche of the 2010/2011 salary arrears.

    According to a statement by the union and signed by its Chairman, Olumide Kupolati, the governor showed his concern about the development of the people.

    Kupolati said the teachers were motivated and would put in their best .

    He urged the governor to release the second tranche of the payment soon.

  • Jonathan’s attitude to Poly, Colleges of Education worrisome, says COEASU

    Jonathan’s attitude to Poly, Colleges of Education worrisome, says COEASU

    President Goodluck Jonathan came under fire yesterday over the running of the education system in the country.

    Colleges of Academic Staff Union (COEASU) accused Jonathan of operating an elitist government by ignoring the masses in its educational drive.

    COEASU President, Emmanuel Asagha, who addressed newsmen at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) College of Education, Zuba, described the attitude as unfair and capable of destroying the system.

    According to him, government has not accorded the two sub-sectors respect enjoyed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) because it feels only the children of the peasants, artisans and the less privileged attend them.

    Asagha’s word: “Nigerian government is running not only an elitist government but a class government. The specification is so clear. When ASUU is on strike, everybody gets concerned.

    “Certain persons serving in the present government asked me to suspend the strike because I may not have the sympathy that ASUU has gotten. I told him it is because he does not have a child in the Colleges of Education. When ASUU is on strike, they will even call the governor of a state to mediate.

    “ASUP has been on strike since October, nobody called them to anywhere. The more we (COEASU) met with government, the more the memorandum we signed and the more we got betrayed”, he lamented.

    Asagha said the money required to bail the Federal Colleges of Education was just about N30 billion, “which is a small money for the ruling party”.

    Asagha likened the problems in the education sector to the crisis in the North and South-South where issues had been left unattended to overtime.

    “We believe one day God will send us somebody that has an interest in the system and save the masses. We would have had peace in the North and South South today if people had heeded warnings.

    “We will carry the protest to the presidency and not to the National Assembly. We are going to write the security agencies, nobody should beat a child and ask the child not to cry.”

  • Jonathan’s attitude to Poly, Colleges of Education worrisome, says COEASU

    President Goodluck Jonathan came under fire on Thursday over the running of the education system in the country.
    Colleges of Academic Staff Union (COEASU) accused Jonathan of operating an elitist government by ignoring the masses in its educational drive.
    COEASU President, Emmanuel Asagha, who addressed newsmen at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) College of Education , Zuba, described the attitude as unfair and capable of destroying the system.
    According to him, government has not accorded the two sub-sectors respect enjoyed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) because it feels only the children of the peasants, artisans and the less privileged attend them.
    Asagha’s word: “Nigerian government is running not only an elitist government but a class government. The specification is so clear. When ASUU is on strike, everybody gets concerned.
    “Certain persons serving in the present government asked me to suspend the strike because I may not have the sympathy that ASUU has gotten. I told him it is because he does not have a child in the Colleges of Education. When ASUU is on strike, they will even call the governor of a state to mediate.
    “ASUP has been on strike since October, nobody called them to anywhere. The more we (COEASU) met with government, the more the memorandum we signed and the more we got betrayed”, he lamented.
    Asagha said the money required to bail the Federal Colleges of Education was just about N30 billion, “which is a small money for the ruling party”.
    “We believe one day God will send us somebody that has an interest in the system and save the masses.”
    Asagha likened the problems in the education sector to the crisis in the North and South-South where issues had been left unattended to overtime.
    “We would have had peace in the North and South South today if people had heeded warnings”, he said.
    Asagha said the union will not withdraw from its plan to protest the neglect and discrimination in the sector.
    “We will carry the protest to the presidency and not to the National Assembly. We are going to write the security agencies, nobody should beat a child and ask the child not to cry.
    “Government is known for spending billions on repairs instead of prevention. The funding chat for Colleges of Education is so ridiculous. May be the reason because the people in the top echelon don’t have stake in the Colleges of Education.
    “No one is better than the other. Some people have decided to attend colleges of education because they have chosen teaching as profession. Not because they are less privileged or don’t have the competence to attend universities”, he said.
  • Lecturers in colleges of education vow to continue strike

    Lecturers in colleges of education vow to continue strike

    The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has warned the federal government against implementation of retroactive policies that will hamper the teacher-education system and the entire sector.

    Its National President, Nkoro Asagha, gave the warning yesterday at the expanded National Executive Council meeting held at the Federal College of Education (Special) Akinmoorin, Oyo State.

    Asagha lamented that the demands of the union remain unmet despite painstaking moves to dialogue with the federal government.

    He said only the constitution of the Needs Assessment Committee had been met.

    “This,” according to him, “is in spite of the critical role of Colleges of Education as the fulcrum of every form of education.

    “Yet, the plight of the system, and those within it, which is much more crucial in the education sector of the country than those of other tertiary institutions aforesaid, rarely comes to limelight until more damage has been done. ”

    He accused the Federal Ministry of Finance, through the Budget Office and the Office of the Accountant General of the federation, of seeking a path towards hasty implementation of the Integrated Personal Pay role Information System (IPPIS) imposed by the federal government without due consideration of the implications on the smooth running of the institutions.

    The imposed IPPIS, Asagha noted, has not been certified full-proof as evident in the discrepancies already registered in its pilot implementation.

    He warned that ”the Colleges of Education system cannot be used as guinea-pigs for quasi-economic policies in the guise of checking leakages in government expenditure profile.”

    Asagha vowed that the union will not call off its strike until some of the issues critical to the development of colleges of education are fully implemented by both the federal and state governments.

    They include teaching practice, non-accreditation of NCE programmes, non-release of white paper on Visitation Panel Reports, non-implementation of CONPCASS and non-institution of dual mode.

    Others are non-harmonisation of conditions of service, group life insurance, non-implementation of 65 years retirement age, non-implementation and payment of peculiar allowances, poor infrastructural development and funding.

     

  • Group seeks end to ASUP, COEASU strikes

    The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) has called on the Federal Government to meet the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) so that students can resume.

    The group said the strikes have shown the failure of the government to resolve the lingering problems in education sector.

    In a statement, its National Coordinator and National Secretary, Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Michael Ogundele, the group said the demands of ASUP and COEASU are to improve the education sub-sector, noting that it has suffered neglect by the government.

    “We note that the Federal Government has been largely indifferent to the agitations of ASUP over the past few months which have contributed to the prolongation of the strike. It is not coincidental that same indifferent and disdainful attitude is being applied by the Federal Government to the COEASU strike which started much later.

    “President Goodluck Jonathan’s anti-poor capitalist government has nothing but contempt for public education, most especially the polytechnic and colleges of education. The ERC believes that further expectation that this government will do the right thing simply through dialogue is a waste of time.

    “We, therefore, challenge ASUP and COEASU to name a day for nationwide mass protests to compel the government to meet their demands,” the statement said.

    ERC said it is confident that if ASUP and COEASU jointly name a day for protests and embark on serious mobilisation towards it, the response from Polytechnics and Colleges of Education lecturers, home-weary students and concerned members of the public would be solid, noting that if such a step is taken, the ERC will lend its support.

    The  strike is in its fourth week.

    The union embarked on strike to stop what they termed the imposition of the Integrated Personnel & Payroll Information System (IPPIS) on colleges of education.

     

  • Govt promises to resolve ASUP, COEASU actions

    Govt promises to resolve ASUP, COEASU actions

    The Federal Government has said it will resolve the strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) and the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU).

    The government said it has continuously dialogued with officials of the unions through the Federal Ministry of Education and Federal Ministry of Labour.

    Already, the Federal Government has resolved most of the key issues that led to the strikes and promised to resolve the others soon.

    A statement yesterday in Abuja by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Supervising Minister of Education, Simeon Nwakaudu, said the government had set up the NEEDS Assessment Committees for federal polytechnics and colleges of education.

    “Both committees have been inaugurated and are working to deliver on their mandate,” the statement said.

    It said the government had appointed the governing councils for federal polytechnics which hitherto had none.

  • COEASU seeks better pay for teachers

    COEASU seeks better pay for teachers

    The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), has lamented the movement of teachers for greener pastures from the Nwafor Orizu College of Education in Nsugbe (NOCEN), an Anambra State-owned institution near Onitsha, as a result of poor pay.

    National President of COEASU, Comrade Emmanuel Asagha, made this known after a meeting with lecturers of the insitution on the improvement of salary and conditions of service.

    He lamented that the lecturers were the least paid in the country, despite exorbitant fees paid by students.

    He said the national body of the union would fight to ensure that lecturers in the institution were no longer treated as underdogs; which undermines the hard work they are putting to make learning better.

    “Lecturers in Nwafor Orizu have been the most patient lecturers in the country, waiting for about eight years on just one thing – improved salary and condition of service, which others had got long time ago.

    “Anambra is not the poorest state in the country. If other states with lower financial resources could pay their lecturers the national colleges of education salary as well as meet their condition of service, I do not see reason why the Anambra government should not pay.

    “Also, the national executives have told the lecturers that they should know they own the college; and nobody or authority should proscribe them or make them seek meeting places outside the college premises. This we have made the management of this institution to know and understand in black and white today,” he noted.

    Asagha, however, urged his colleagues to close ranks by shunning all divisive tendencies. He said the union would dialogue with the Anambra government but might take some harsh decisions should the latter fail to play ball.

    Comrade Vincent Asalu, Chairman of COEASU chapter of NOCEN, said the demand of the lecturers included: implementation of the CONPCASS salary structure and harmonisation of conditions of service to be at par with other state-owned colleges.

    “We want the government to constitute a governing council as well as appoint a substantive provost in this institution.

    “Government should lift embargo on employment in the institution and increase funding to the management, as a way of removing heavy financial burden on students’ payments and tuition,” Asalu said.

    It would be recalled that the Anambra State Governor Obi, promised that his administration would be spending N40 billion on education before the next six months.

     

  • COEASU begins warning strike

    Lecturers in colleges of education nationwide, under the aegis of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), have begun a seven-day warning strike to protest unfulfilled demands by the federal and state governments.

    Their counterparts in the universities have been on strike since two months, following the failure by the Federal Government to honour the 2009 agreement it reached with the university teachers.

    COEASU, Adeyemi College of Education (ACE) Ondo chapter, joined its counterparts in other colleges of education yesterday, for the strike.

    The lecturers shut the main entrance to the college and embarked on a protest march.

    The Chairman of COEASU in the college and the National Vice-President of the union, Messrs Samuel Akintunde and Smart Olugbeko, led other members in the protest march.

    The union leaders said COEASU embarked on the strike because of the failure of the Federal Government to honour the agreement it reached with the teachers’ union in 2009.

    Besides, it decried the delay in the release of a White Paper of the Presidential Visitation Panels to federal colleges of education.

    COEASU said the delay was an attempt to ignore the issues the panels unearthed.

    It rejected the introduction of the Integrated Personnel Payment System (IPPIS), stressing that it was not only retrogressive, but also infringed on the laws establishing the colleges of education and the regulatory body; thereby running of the colleges.

    The union urged the federal and state governments to fund the education sector, given its strategic role in the nation.

    The management of Adeyemi College of Education has suspended the ongoing examinations, urging the students to remain calm until COEASU calls off the strike.

    Deputy Provost Olufemi Olajuyigbe told reporters that a request for a waiver to allow the students finish their exams was turned down by the local chapter of COEASU in order not to incur the sanction of the national body.

    Olajiyigbe, however, enjoined the Federal Government to save the education sector from collapse.