would go on, despite the government’s shifting of its position. The
strike has been on for four months.
More cash has been pledged for projects on the campuses.
Besides, the earned allowances due to the teachers have been
increased from the initial N30 billion offer, which the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) rejected. The teachers are
insisting on the 2009 agreement, which they say President
Goodluck Jonathan was part of. Besides, they say, they do not
trust the government.
According to a circular by the Vice Chancellor of the Federal
University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Prof. Bolaji Aluko, to the staff
of the school, quoted yesterday by the news website, Sahara
Reporters, the government has pledged to spend N200 billion on
the universities in the 2014 budget and the same amount annually
for the next three to four years.
This is in addition to the N100 billion already made available this
year, but which ASUU has rejected.
The government has also increased to N40 billion, as a first
installment, funds for the payment of earned allowances to the
striking lecturers – an improvement from the N30 billion
previously released.
On the earned allowances, Aluko said: “Government will top it up
with further releases once universities are through with the
disbursement of this new figure of N40 million. So, Vice-
Chancellors are urged to expedite this disbursement within the
shortest possible time using guiding templates that have been sent
by the CVC,” the circular said.
Aluko said the latest development followed meetings on
September 19 and Oct 11 of representatives of the Association
of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, led by its Chairman,
Prof. Hamisu of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) and
ASUU representatives led by its President, Dr.Nasir Fagge, with
Vice-President Namadi Sambo and Minister of Education Nyesome
Wike.
A source in the Ministry of Education last night also confirmed
that the meeting took place.
“But the government decided to leave the announcement of the
decision to the ASUU chiefs,” the source said.
It was gathered that Sambo urged ASUU to call off the strike, as
he apologised for the “take-it-or-leave-it” comments credited
to Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the beginning of
the strike. The Minister did not seem to have been involved in
either meeting, perhaps as the government’s way of soothing the
feelings of the university teachers.
Other points of agreement at the meetings include:
•Project Prioritisation: Universities will now be allowed to
determine their priorities and not be “rail-roaded” into
implementing a pre-determined set of projects with respect to
the NEEDS assessment. Decisions are not to be centralized;
•TETFund Intervention: The government assured the teachers
that the operations of the TETFund will not be impaired, and that
the regular TETFund intervention disbursement to universities will
continue, unaffected. So the NEEDS assessment capital outlays
are in addition to regular TETFund intervention;
•Project Monitoring: A new Implementation Monitoring Committee
(IMC) for the NEEDS Assessment intervention for universities has
been set up to take over from the Suswam Committee. The new
one is under the Federal Ministry of Education and chaired by the
Minister of Education. In addition, to build confidence and ensure
faithful implementation and prevent any relapse as before, the
Vice President will meet quarterly with the implementors to
monitor progress.
.Blueprint: ASUU was mandated to submit a blueprint for
revitalising the universities to the Vice President.
Prof. Aluko stated that a signed document will soon be issued to
itemise the full issues on which the consensus was reached.
But ASUU last night was unimpressed with the new offer.
National Treasurer Dr. Ademola Aremu said the offer failed to
meet the teachers’ expectations.
He said the offer falls short of the agreement signed with ASUU
by the government.
Aremu insisted that ASUU would not end the strike until the
2009 agreement is fully implemented by injecting N500 billion
into the universities yearly to shore up the system’s quality.
Aremu, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, said
any offer below what is contained in the signed agreement, would
amount to unilateral repudiation of an agreement the government
willingly signed in 2009.
According to the unionist, ASUU is not making any new demand,
but a mere implementation of an agreement. He pointed out that
the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by both parties in
2009 stated that the government would commit N1.5 trillion to
the system in three years.
He said: “ Even if the Federal Government made that promise, it
would be a unilateral repudiation of the 2009 agreement. By
now, the government should have injected N500 billion. That
amounts to N100 billion in 2012 and N400 billion in the current
year.
“As a matter of fact, any new commitment from the Federal
Government is belated. Implementation of the agreement ought to
have started before this year. I don’t think there is any way we
can trust this government, going by its past behaviour on this
issue.
“The mandate from our principal as at the last time we met was
that we won’t end the strike until the agreement is fully
implemented.
“We do not need promises again. What we need now is actual
implementation. What if they do not release the funds again after
making the promise?
“It was this same Mr President that mid-wifed the agreement in
2009 when he was the Vice President. The MoU was in his
custody. He studied the agreement well before asking then
President Umaru Yar’Adua to sign it. We can’t trust this
government.
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