ASUU Blasts NUC, Says Strike Continues

The Academic Staff Union of Universities said the existence of the National Universities Commission has not brought improvement to the standard of education in the country. The union also said that it would not call off the
strike because of the mere promise made by the
Federal Government to provide revitalization
fund for the university system. ASUU also called on the National Assembly to
investigate the activities of NUC with a view to
determining the continued relevance or
otherwise of the university supervisory body. If found irrelevant, ASUU said it should be
scrapped. Chairman of ASUU, University of Ibadan chapter,
Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye, who spoke in Ibadan
noted that the NUC boss, Prof. Julius Okojie, had
concentrated the effort of the university
regulatory body on quantity rather than quality
while issuing accreditation to universities. Ajiboye said, “Okojie should take full
responsibility for all his deeds in the NUC.
Nigerians should be proud of ASUU in its efforts
at repositioning public universities in the
country.” The union leader added that the result of the
assessment exercise of NUC carried out by the
National Economic Empowerment Development
Strategy should be used to judge the relevance of
NUC and its leader rather than the self-assessment
of the regulatory agency. He said some of the accreditation's granted by
NUC were enmeshed in controversy, wondering
why the National Assembly had not taken action
on the controversies surrounding the
accreditation's so far recorded. He said, “One of the efforts of ASUU to reposition
education in the country is the NEEDS Assessment
document. This was a product of a rigorous
academic exercise carried out by dependable and
credible members of our union. Unlike the
numerous faulty accreditation reports which had given these universities clean bill of health, the
NEEDS Assessment Report stands out as a classical
document of reference detailing the rot and
decay in public universities in Nigeria. “All well meaning Nigerians can see the contrast
between Okojie’s packaged accreditation reports
and a credible job done by ASUU. It has become
very clear from the assessment document that
Okojie and his people have fooled this country
for too long. Time is now for government to beam a searchlight on the activities of the NUC.
The education committees in both the Senate and
House of Representatives have an arduous task
to do here. Nigerians are calling for dismantling of
an omnibus body that has done the country
more harm than good.” ASUU also reiterated its commitment to the
current effort to gain Federal Government
consent to its demand, saying that the strike
would not be called off based on mere
government promise. Meanwhile, a non-governmental organisation, Do
It Right Foundation, has appealed to the Federal
Government and ASUU to work hard and resolve
the lingering crisis that has shut down the
education sector. In a statement on Sunday, President and National
Coordinator of the foundation, Mr. Dixon Jubril,
called on the university lecturers to give room for
re-opening of the universities in the interest of
the students. “It has become a burden on both the government
and ASUU to save the education sector from
collapse by finding a common ground for the
amicable resolution of the crisis. What both
parties to the dispute must have in mind is that
while the situation lingers it is the future of the students that is at stake. “We call on ASUU in particular to shift ground a
bit for the common good of the education
system. It’s our belief that the time has come for
ASUU to devise other means of settling its
disputes with government instead of the
constant disruption of academic activities with its attendant socio-economic implications.