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 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.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN