ASUU Strike: Enough Is Enough! - Education - Nairaland
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| ASUU Strike: Enough Is Enough! by Kei144(m): 9:00am On Oct 03, 2013 |
Wednesday, October 2, 2013 As the "indefinite strike" embarked upon by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over a 2009 Agreement with the Federal Government moves into its third month, the initial support for the strike by Nigerians has been waning. The Prelate of the Church of Nigeria, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, even called on the Federal Government to disband ASUU or restrict its activities to individual universities, saying organisations like ASUU do not exist anywhere in the world. He claimed that while the strike subsisted, ASUU members were busy teaching in private universities and earning money. This is, to say the least, very sad and sobering. It is no longer possible to dismiss the suspicion that ASUU is playing politics with the strike because of its adamant position in the face of the conciliatory approach taken by the Federal Government. On Friday, August 23, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation met with the Vice Chancellors and chairmen of councils of public universities to disburse N100 billion for the implementation of the first phase projects listed in the Needs Assessment Report of Universities and N30 billion to support federal university councils in the payment of "earned allowances'' to deserving staff. The earned allowances are post-graduate supervision allowance, teaching practice/industrial supervision/field trip allowance, honorarium for external/internal examination (postgraduate theses), honorarium for external moderation of undergraduate and postgraduate examinations, postgraduate study grant, external assessment of readers or professors, call duty, clinical duty or hazard, responsibility allowance and excess workload allowance. The foregoing compels us to ask some pertinent questions. Are the professors and other qualified academics not currently being paid allowances by their respective universities for postgraduate supervision and all the other regime of earned allowances listed above? When professors assess their colleagues for readership or professorship, are they not paid honoraria by the universities that invite them? If lecturers have to be paid excess workload allowance for teaching extra courses, having extra student populations and marking extra scripts, what are they employed for in the first place? Are Heads of Department, Deans and other lecturers carrying out administrative duties not currently being paid responsibility allowance? How then does anyone situate the double payment inherent in the current claims, in the first place? It is an open secret that most of the professors are also "adjunct professors'' in many other universities, earning substantial income apart from their substantive appointments in their home universities. There is in fact the reported case of a Fine Arts professor who is also an adjunct professor in five other universities. How can such an academic have time to carry out his primary responsibilities in his home university? Can he have time for postgraduate students in his home university? Yet, these academics are reportedly claiming fat earned allowances. It is even alleged that ridiculous estimates of earned allowances have been prepared in the universities across the country. When a lecturer on consolidated salary of less than N5 million is claiming over N10 million earned allowances, something is wrong somewhere. We fully endorse the government's position that the so-called earned allowances and excess workload claims should be verified to ensure that only those with legitimate claims are paid, contrary to ASUU's position that the payment should be made across board. That position is in itself symptomatic of deep-seated criminality and perverse values. On the other aspects of the agreement, we are of the view that the government has substantially demonstrated enough commitment for ASUU to shift ground and return to the classrooms. The Consolidated Salary Structure has been implemented fully and teaching and non-teaching staff have been on the consolidated salary since 2009. Government has also contributed its own counterpart funding of N250 million, in addition to other administrative support. Although education is on the concurrent list, government has always assisted state universities through the federal intervention agencies. The present special revitalisation programme covers both state and federal universities. On the request for transfer of Federal Government landed property to universities, we do not agree with ASUU that government should transfer its landed properties to ASUU whether or not it can manage such property. The Federal Government is the employer of ASUU and not the other way round. The issue of the National Health Insurance Scheme has been implemented. The clamour by professors and readers for retirement at age 70 has also been met. The Budget Monitoring Committee (BMC) demand has been met, as the universities have been directed to establish BMCs. Apart form members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), ASUU is another institution that maltreats its junior members. Some senior ASUU members are a threat to their junior colleagues, which is why some of the latter spend more than a decade acquiring a doctorate degree. ASUU members not only delay postgraduate students, they delay their members by refusing to assess them for readership or professorship for several years. It is a fact that some professors abandon their duties to their subordinates so that they can have time for their multiple engagements. These acts of sabotage, and not government's failures alone, are the things that destroy the university system. ASUU should stop holding the entire nation to ransom. Students, their parents and the general public are tired of their antics. However, ASUU members should stop comparing themselves with politicians. If some professors feel that councillors are better paid, they should resign their appointments and join political parties to test their popularity. http://odili.net/news/source/2013/oct/2/600.html |
| Re: ASUU Strike: Enough Is Enough! by Nobody: 9:37am On Oct 03, 2013 |
All ah want to hear is d strike has ended tired of hearin all dese news |
| Re: ASUU Strike: Enough Is Enough! by Yagazee: 5:29pm On Oct 03, 2013 |
Give ASUU N1trillion & u will end up making Fagge & his cohort millionaires. FG for the 1st time implements N130b & pledges more next year. For the 1st time we all know the main issues of contineous strike. Many are more involved this time around than ever. It has generated lot of noise from Education sector, labour, Oil & Gas, Religious leaders & bodies & across US. Lets face the truth here, FG won't do more this year. FG will never implement all those agreement we know our gov't. The administration that signed that agreement did so to end strike. So is not like ASUU sat with FG under normal & friendly circumstances to discuss. If ASUU care, they should call off & let all eyes be on FG on what they will do next. 2015 is election year, I believe this guys will do much for Universities before then but definately not this year. |
| Re: ASUU Strike: Enough Is Enough! by Kei144(m): 6:21pm On Oct 03, 2013 |
Yagazee: Give ASUU N1trillion & u will end up making You are very right my brother. What it means is that if ASUU continues with their NANS-like militancy, there will be no academic activities in public universities for the rest of this year and well into 2014. And government will never pay ASUU the salaries for all the months of zero academic activity. Incidentally, I happen to know that 2014 is going to be an economically brutal year (see https://www.nairaland.com/1447777/apocalyptic-end-time-begins-2014). ASUU will be great losers if they don't immediately call off the strike now and they will regret it for a long time to come. If they miss the opportunity of resuming academic activities in October, is it in December that they will resume? Who will care the hell about ASUU calling off their strike once we are in the second half of November? Look at what is currently happening in USA, world's largest economy, and you will see that the whole world is very close to big trouble. Imagine what USA will become if it gets involved in a major war, with its current economic shape. If ASUU continues on its current path and goes into 2014, there will be lots of regrets. |
| Re: ASUU Strike: Enough Is Enough! by Dospix(m): 7:26pm On Oct 03, 2013 |
ASUU do not have the interest of the Nigerian students; they are just bunch of greedy men seeking to enrich themselves by all mean. The earlier we realize this the better for us. |
| Re: ASUU Strike: Enough Is Enough! by Victosin09(f): 7:33pm On Oct 03, 2013 |
Adura loku bayi |
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