DELSU ASUU queries govt’s N100b for public varsities MIFFED by “the much trumpeted N100 billion” the Federal Government recently released to 61 public universities, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Delta State University (DELSU) chapter at the weekend vowed to continue with the ongoing national industrial action, which is now in its third month. In a statement signed by the DELSU ASUU Chairman, Dr. Emmanuel Nwafor Mordi, the union reaffirmed its earlier resolution to continue with the diligent prosecution of the ongoing strike as directed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) until the 2009 ASUU/FGN agreement is fully implemented. The union described the said money as a violation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between them as well as the 2013 Technical Report on the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities. It noted that it was a clear demonstration of government’s insincerity, as it falls far short of the minimum amount required to revitalize the sector, worse as the governing councils have no free hand in its utilization. It also criticized the institution’s just concluded post-UTME, saying it fell short of the minimum standard for DELSU examinations and stands discredited. Therefore, it urged the university administration to discard its outcome. However, the Vice Chancellor of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Prof. AbdulRaheed Na’Allah, has canvassed a speedy end to the ongoing strike, stating that both parties in the industrial dispute have failed the nation, especially in the area of dutiful development of the nation’s resources for the growth and comfort of the people. Speaking to newsmen yesterday at the unveiling of the institution’s School of Business and Governance, Na’Allah debunked claims that KWASU was antithetical to the ideals of ASUU, noting that no Nigerian university worth its salt could survive without the collaboration of others. He appealed to government and ASUU to work together to get back the universities to excellence as it used to be, adding: “KWASU is not in isolation, it is a university in Nigeria and there is no way one university can succeed when others are on strike.” Similarly, the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria (CCSON) has appealed to the striking lecturers nationwide to be more logical in their quest for improved funding of the education sector. In a communiqué jointly signed by its National Coordinator, Temitope Fadahunsi, and National Secretary, Ahmed Yahaya, after an emergency meeting in Abuja at the weekend, the body faulted the union over its recent criticism of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), an intervention agency of the Federal Government. “Everybody – from the students to ASUU itself and government are all concerned and we believe that the only way out is through positive compromise. “We are of the opinion that ASUU is fighting a good fight, which is for the proper funding of the education sector, but the continued strike going into its third month is not to say that government has not been doing anything at all in the education sector,” the group said. Fadahunsi added: “We will not miss the opportunity to point out that the recent alarmist antics of ASUU concerning the Tertiary Education Trust Fund is one that should not be encouraged given what the agency stands for and what it has contributed and continues to contribute to the sector.” Nevertheless, DELSU insisted that the Federal Government must fulfill its written commitment to the disbursement of N500 billion by 2013 towards the revitalization of public universities. The union noted that the N30 billion the Federal Government released for the payment of Earned Academic Allowances was an imposition, not based on any computation, and therefore arbitrary, constituting just 4.5 per cent of personnel cost as against the N92 billion previously mutually agreed by both parties. It called on the Federal Government to pay the mutually agreed sum, which, at any rate, neither provides for the payment of Earned Academic Allowances for 2013 nor for the said allowances in state universities.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 08:53:39 +0000
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