Nigeria Universities – Polytechnics and College of Education news Nigerian Educational News | Zenith Of Educational NewsIT’s really a whirl wind tale between the Nigeria federal government and the academic staff union of Polytechnics, as the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike came out publicly to blamed the Academic Staff Union Of Polytechnics, ASUP and the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU for been adamant to end the lingering strike, saying that the unions refuse to end the strike.
The supervising minister also went on to say that, even after 11 months, the polytechnics and Colleges of Education teachers’ strike continues.
Minister of Education Nyesom Wike on Thursday, blamed it all on the teachers, saying they were delaying the strike’s end.
But one question we are asking is this, who is to be blamed?
The federal government or,
The striking unions?
While speaking at the public presentation on the education sector’s transformation under President Goodluck Jonathan, the Minister also disclosed that the N40 billion which was demanded by the teachers (N20billion for polytechnics and N20 billion for Colleges of education) would be paid in phases, but the two unions Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) and the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) disagreed, saying that they want the payment at once.
Wike Nyesom also went on to said that the federal government could not raise the money at once, hence the plan to pay installmentally.
Wike Nyesom further disclosed that: “The Federal government is not the one holding on to the lingering strike, but the striking lecturers and teachers. According to Wike, an agreed proposal to pay CONTISS-15 arrears of salaries to ASUP members in phases is facing complications. Strike is not something you resolve easily, he further disclosed.
“As of February when the arrears were computed, both ASUP and COEASU made a demand of N20billion each, amounting to a total of Forty Billion Naira (N40 billion). It is not possible for the federal government to raise N40bn. It was later agreed that the money be paid in two phases of N20bn apiece.”
www.Dailyschoolnews.com.ng correspondent was able to gather from a reliable source, that the federal government, ASUP and COEASU agreed that N20billion would be paid in April and N20bn in September or October.
The source said this and we quote below:
“The minister later informed a committee he chaired at a meeting that the two unions wrote to him after he had communicated the agreement to President Goodluck Jonathan to say that they were no longer accepting the phased payment proposal.”
But the National President of ASUP, Dr Chibuzor Asomugha, disclosed that the minister’s claim is false.
DR. Chibuzor Asomugha denied the union’s rejection of the proposal, saying that it was disappointing that the minister would be making such comments when efforts at resolving the crisis were going between the government and the union.
The president of ASUP said last night and we quote: “We did not reject the proposal; I think we have gone beyond that part. The question is: “Did the minister plan to pay that money at all? Did he put it in the budget and pass it across to the presidential committee?”
“First he (Wike) told us it (N20 billion) was in the budget; later, he said it was not in the budget.
“Why did he bring the Salaries and Wages Commission to begin to raise objections about the payment, if actually he wanted to pay?
“ASUP did not reject anything. We ever proposed installmental payment and we rolled out a plan on how it would be paid, which the minister rejected but tried to impose his own on us, which we also rejected, so we both disagreed.
“Later, we arrived at a plan on the installment payment on the order of President with the Ministry of Labour. If the minister was ready to pay any kind of installment and the time was up, is it our refusal that will now stop him from paying?.
Or is it our refusal that stopped him from attending three meetings with the Senate Committee on Education conveyed to resolve the matter?’” the president of ASUP further disclosed?
While on President Goodluck Jonathan’s score card, Nyesom Wike also went on to say that the part of the challenges facing the federal government is that about 10 million children are out of school adding that the federal government had confronted the problem by building 120 Almajiri schools in the North.
The supervising minister of education, Myesom Wike did expressed disappointment that despite the efforts of the Federal Government’s in assisting state governments towards improving quality of basic education, about N53 billion Federal Government and Universal Basic Education (FG/UBE) is still unaccessed.
The federal government, he disclosed, has approved nine more Federal universities to improve access across the country and more than one million Nigerians can now be admitted in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
According to Wike, who said and we quote: “High impact grant to institutions by TETFund, supporting institutions in developing critical infrastructure.
Each University received N3 billion,
while Polytechnic N1 billion,
College of Education N1 billion each.
The Federal Government funding of Federal universities and inter-University centres from 2010 to 2013 is N229, 631, 170, 175.
While that of Laboratory in 51 Federal and state polytechnics upgraded at the cost of N15 billion.”
The Academic Staff Union Of Polytechnics, (ASUP) embarked on an indefinite Strike since the 4th of October, 2013 and the Colleges Of Education Academic Staff Union, (COEASU) embarked on an indefinite strike on the 18th of December, 2013 respectively to press home the implementation of their demands from the Federal Government.
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