JOINT ACTION CONGRESS (JAC) TAI SOLARIN COLLEGE OF EDUCATION TASCE/JAC/06/Vol.I/153rd November, 2014 His Excellency, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, fca Office of the Governor, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, WHY THE GOVERNMENT MUST RECONSIDER ITS STAND ON THE 48 MONTHS ARREARS AND TEN MONTHS UNPAID SALARIES Historical Antecedents It is an open secret that The Tai Solarin College of Education (formerly Ogun State College of Education) was established in 1978 as the first state-owned tertiary institution in Ogun State mainly for the production of manpower for primary and secondary education through the award of Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) to qualified students upon the completion of their academic programmes. The College took off initially from Igbeba before it was relocated to Ijagun, via Ijebu-Ode. Following the demise of Dr. Tai Solarin, an educationist and in recognition of his landmark contributions and achievement in the field of education, the College was renamed after him by the Ogun State government. Let it be stated that ex-student of the College have distinguished themselves in all field of human endeavour in view of the qualitative education received. No wonder, the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), during the 1999 accreditation exercise rated the College as the best State College of Education and the third best amongst all Colleges of Education (both state and federal combined) in Nigeria. In view of the monumental progress recorded by the College cum the available human capital, the College in 1998, after twenty years of its existence and training of teachers at NCE level, commenced degree programme in affiliation with the premier University in Nigeria, the University of Ibadan. Not only that, the College was upgraded to a University of Education, the first of its kind in Nigeria in year 2005 while the NCE programmes were run simultaneously with the degree programmes. With this development, all the staff of the College of Education became staff of the University. The current trauma of the College however commenced in October, 2008, three years after its upgrading to a University when the University Management forcefully and unjustly transferred the services of four hundred and seventy-four staff (474) of the University to a jungle at Omu-Ijebu for the continuation of NCE programmes for reasons yet to be understood. They transferred the services of these staff to the College at Omu contrary to the wish of majority and in contravention of the University’s condition of service/public service rule which only granted the employee to request for such transfer (sample letter of transfer attached). To worsen the disarticulation exercise carried out, the University Management employed over five hundred (> 500) staff to replace the four hundred and seventy-four (474) staff that were unceremoniously and unjustly sent out of the University. GENESIS OF THE CRISIS The quality and standard of the working environment where the staff were relocated, Omu, is nothing to write home about. There were no staff offices, no table and chairs, ditto for other office equipment. In fact, the situation then could be tagged ‘begin again’ due to the extent of infrastructural deficit which the staff took in good faith. Not too long that the College was relocated that the challenge of salary became pronounced. Specifically, since October, 2009, the staff have been subjected to financial deprivation due to non-payment of salary by the government. Between 2009 and November 2014, over ten staff had died untimely due to paucity of fund to cater for their medical expenses while many are suffering from other health challenges due to inability to cater for their medication. As at May 29, 2011, the staff were owed 81/2 months unpaid salaries and 24 months arrears. Following the change of government in May 29, 2011, an interactive session with Ogun State people was conveyed at your instance at the Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, where you passionately appealed to us that the various staff Unions should suspend the on-going strike to enable the government look into the plight of the Unions. Unfortunately, when the government paid May, June and July 2011 subventions, half salary was paid which has never been hard of and up till now, the outstanding balance of 11/2 months salary was yet to be paid by the government. With the setting up of the Facts Finding Visitation Panel shortly after your assumption of office, we thought old things had passed away but up till now, the report of the panel is yet to be officially released neither has the government issued out a white paper on the said visitation. What a fruitless effort! Since you came on board in 2011, barely four years ago, the agony and trauma experienced by staff during the past administration which we thought would vanish has further worsened. Staff salaries are not paid regularly, the practice is 90 days make one month. The Unions made frantic efforts to meet with you but was vehemently resisted. Series of letters were written to you through the offices of the Provost and the Honourable Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology over the state of infrastructure in the College, unpaid salaries and arrears but all to no avail. It is on record that the Unions have met with the Honourable Commissiner for Education, Science and Technology for seventy-eight times (as early as 7.30am) over the unpaid salaries/arrears but nothing came out of it. If not for the two days protest that preceded your official visit to Ijebu-Ode on Thursday, 16th October, 2014, September 2014 salary would not have been paid on 17th of October, 2014. Sir, it should be emphasized that while other civil servants in the state inclusive of your kitchen cabinet celebrated El-Del Kabir in affluence, College staff who are Muslims were busy counting the ceilings of their rooms. Students resumed for 2014/2015 academic session, yet, our children were at home when we could not afford to buy the necessary textbooks let alone payment of their school fees just because salaries and arrears are not paid. This is not in tandem with your promise to the Unions that salaries would be paid on or before 6th days of the following month. It was shocking and amazing that you denied ever owing College Staff any salary/arrears at Ijebu-Ode rally when in actual fact, you acknowledged and admitted during an OGTV live programme on 26th August, 2014 that the government owed College staff and that same would be paid instalmentally after negotiation with the staff Unions in view of the enormity of the value involved. Page 7 of ‘The Nation’ (copy attached, see paragraph X) with the caption ‘Government not owing salaries, says Amosun’ is a confirmation of the fact that government has not paid the ten months salaries and outstanding forty-eight months arrears owed College staff. Up till now, the government is yet to invite the Unions to spell out the modalities for payment of the outstanding salaries/arrears. Instead, the Honourable Commissioner for Finance whom his counterpart from Education, Science & Technology Ministry assured the Unions would spell-out the modalities for the payment of the outstanding salaries/arrears was quoted to have said that all institutions that paid the arrears did so from their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and that the College should look inward to pay the said arrears. She was also said to have confessed that the College has been enjoying monopoly of 100% payment of subvention which does not go well with other tertiary institutions. The College was subsequently charged to generate revenue to pay the said arrears like other tertiary institutions in the State. Implications of Government Stand on the Unpaid Salaries and Outstanding Arrears It is on record that the Honourable Commissioner for Education Science and Technology visited the College after the staff were paid half salaries for the months of May, June and July, 2011 (11/2 months in aggregate) and assured the Unions that the money was available in the coffers of the government and same would be released immediately the Unions suspended their industrial action. The Unions acceded to the plea from the exalted position of the Commissioner but it is gratifying to note that the money which the Commissioner claimed to be in the coffers of the government is yet to cat-walk from Oke-Imosan since 2011. Is this fair? The government set up an Education Transition Committee headed by Professor S. A. Tella of Olabisi Onabanjo University. The Committee visited all the ten tertiary institutions (College inclusive) in the State and submitted its report but up till now, the effect of the Committee’s report is yet to see the light of the day. Following the agitations of staff Unions in the College for payment of outstanding salaries and arrears, another fact-finding Committee from the Ministry of Education visited the College and met with the Unions and staff of the College. The Committee came, saw and submitted its reports to the government but same was swept under the carpet. You would also recall that at your instance, a Facts-Finding Committee headed by Professor Saburi Adesanya, (the incumbent Vice-Chancellor of Olabisis Onabanjo University) visited the College in the year 2011 and met with the various stakeholders. The Committee had since submitted its reports to the government, yet, no positive step has been taken by your administration to look into our plight. The Honourable Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, at your instance, in February, 2012 announced the relocation of the College back to its original location at Ijagun. Over two years after the pronouncement, nothing has come out of the pronouncement. The Unions wrote a letter through the Offices of the Provost and Honourable Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology that Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun falsified the letter head paper of the College
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 17:12:44 +0000
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