ASUU Carpets AGF Over Lingering Varsity Strike
BY ADEYEMI AKANJI, BAUCHI – Leadership of the Academic Staff of Union of Universities (ASUU) has blamed the lingering crisis in the nation’s university system on the Federal Government’s arbitray decision to stop its members salaries in February 2020.
ASUU accused the government of betraying its trust, noting that the move was not only inconsiderate but also a deliberate attempt to snuff life out of the union and subject its members to untold hardship.
It said the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, who effected the stoppage ASUU members’ salaries in the name of non-enrollment on AAA the IPPIS Platform, is the problem militating against amicable resolution of the ASUU/FG crisis.
Addressing newsmen at the Union Branch office, Abubakar Tafewa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi on Wednesday, Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Professor Lawan Garba Abubakar said; “Since then, our members are being owed four (4) to five (5) months of salaries after a mischievous and erroneous attempt to pay. This was the second issue deliberately introduced by Government to ensure that academic activities did not resume”.
He queried the reason government has continued to renege on the agreements, MoUs ond MoAs, adding that; “The answers to this question are simple, clear and I think, they include but not limited to so many factors.”
Prof Abubakar cited abdication of responsibility by government officials borne out of wicked motives, saying; “Those in position of power simply take exception to giving this important service to the common man who perpetually remains where he or she is, unable to take care of his or her responsibilities; and always looking up to the elites for his or her daily needs, not minding being manipulated”.
The Union official further alleged that government intention is to commercialise and privatise University education having successfully finished with public primary and secondary education.
He said it is unfortunate that government sees proper funding of University education as being counter productive to its privatisation policy, noting that; proper funding of public universities would put the existing private ones, mainly owned by people in government, out of business”.
According to him, the two other models of guaranteeing business at the private universities are: Charging of high tuition fees which reduces patronage at the unstable public universities for increased patronage at the private universities – this effect could be minimal as only a few might afford the fees.
He also said that charging of high tuition fees and provision of loans by an Education Bank for students to access could have catastrophic end results because the model may result in such benefitting students spending their entire lives working to service such facility or end up without a paid job that would guarantee the loan repayment.
The University Don said in such circumstances, depression could set in and subsequently suicide cases characteristic of South America experience, where the model has been tested.
He declared that ASUU will not back down on its demands for proper funding of the nation’s university education system and urged the government to stop the blame game but release the agreed instalment funding of the sum of N220b yearly agreement.
