DANGER LOOMS AHEAD IN THE UNIVERSITIES

There appears to be more trouble for Nigeria’s education sector as all the major non-teaching staff unions of Nigerian public universities have resolved to embark on an indefinite strike from September 11.


 This is just as the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) held a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja.

 Chairman of JAC, who is also the SSANU President, Samson Ugwoke, noted that the nationwide industrial action would be total and comprehensive. According to him, there will be no provision of services from members of the union during the strike, no matter how skeletal.

 Ugwoke said concessions would not be granted while all union members would stay at home until further notice, unless as directed by JAC through their respective presidents.

 The workers are demanding for the immediate payment of earned allowances, as well as a review of the universities governance system.

 The decision comes less than four weeks after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) commenced an indefinite nationwide industrial action.

 The strike, which was announced on August 14 by the National President of ASUU, Dr Biodun Ogunyemi, followed a meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union in Abuja.

 The union had directed members in its branches across the country not to attend statutory meetings of any kind. Ogunyemi, who declared a ‘total, comprehensive and indefinite’ nationwide industrial action, had also said there shall be “no teaching and no examination” during the strike.

 He had blamed the decision on government’s failure to fully implement the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement and the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

 Some of the reasons stated by ASUU were payment of fractions/ non-payment of salaries; non-payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA); non-release of operational license of NUPEMCO and the non-implementation of the provisions of the 2014 Pension Reform Act with respect to retired professors and their salaries.

 Others include the removal of Universal Staff Schools from funding by government; funds for the revitalisation of Public Universities (Implementation of Needs Assessment Report), as well as the poor funding of existing State Universities and proliferation of universities by their visitors among other issues.