Students of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, have criticised the institution’s branch of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for rejecting the staff duty register recently introduced by the school management.

The critics, who are mainly students’ union leaders, expressed their views in interviews with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday. They alleged that the union’s opposition to the policy, which has been suspended, was based on selfish interests.

Tagged “Time and Attendance Device”, the policy was announced through a July 31 memo signed by the Deputy Registrar of DELSU, Mr Emmanuel Egheneji. In the memo, the management said with effect from Aug. 1, academic staff members were to “clock-in and clock-out” each time they resumed and closed from work.

But ASUU-DELSU, in a letter to the state Commissioner for Higher Education, rejected the policy, describing it as “unacademic, unprecedented and a deviation from best practices of the global academic community”. The letter was signed by the branch Chairman, Prof. Abel Diakparomre, and the Secretary, Dr Emmanuel Ufuophu-Biri. Consequently, in an Aug. 10 memo signed by the Registrar, Mr Daniel Urhibo, the management announced the suspension of the policy, citing a directive from the state government.

The “disappointed” students, who craved anonymity, said they were, however, not surprised by the union’s stance. According to them, ASUU-DELSU is only protecting the “regime of truancy and moonlighting among its members” in the institution. Moonlighting is the act of working at an extra paid job, especially without the knowledge or consent of the employer.

“Many lecturers in DELSU don’t attend classes regularly because they are busy pursuing their private businesses or doing extra paid jobs in private universities at our expense,’’ one student said. “What they do is prescribe textbooks and other study materials for us on their first day in class, and then disappear till the end of the semester.

“We were happy when the attendance policy was introduced by management because it was a good measure to put an end to the lecturers’ excesses but our joy was cut short,’’ another student said. Responding to the allegations, the ASUU-DELSU secretary, Ufuophu-Biri, reiterated the union’s position on the policy. “The beauty of the academia all over the world is academic freedom but this is lacking seriously in Nigeria.

Read More at: https://leadership.ng/2018/08/22/delsu-students-flay-asuus-rejection-of-duty-register/