ASUU Rejects N600b Offer
Varsity teachers remained adamant
last night, saying their strike 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 too 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-lea
ve-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.
-The Nation... www.thenationon
lineng.net

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ASUU y na?? FG don shift grounds make una shake body small na

Strike continues and ends only God knows when. Dear God, pls do something. I pirry una o. So happy my school isn't on strike, the era of strike is over#teamRSUST

Why is it very difficult for federal government to spend Nigerians' money on Nigeria youths?

ASUU but y .dis pple own too much sef at least d FG is tryin to end dis strike buh dey r only aggravaitin it more..make dem chop shit jooor

Walahi...am now confused on who to blame..ASUU or FAGGE sorry FG? Please whats going on??

Politics is involved' am so sure! May God intervene...

[quote author=ayodeji752][/quote]
it is difficult because is people like you that stop the implementation of fuel subsidy.