Education

ASUU Strike To be called off Soon — Ngige

According to him, ASUU officials agreed to return to their members with offers made by government and revert to him before the week runs out.

Published

3 years ago

March 2, 2022

Sunday Osanyintuyi

The Federal Government has expressed the hope that the one-month warning strike embarked upon by ASUU on Feb. 14, would soon be called off.

ASUU called its members out on the warning strike to compel the Federal Government to address their demands, some of which had been lingering since 2009.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, expressed the hope of ending the warning strike when he spoke with newsmen at the end of a conciliation meeting between government and the union.

Ngige said the meeting agreed on many issues and a timeline was scheduled for the implementation of the agreements.

According to him, ASUU officials agreed to return to their members with offers made by government and revert to him before the week runs out.

He noted that many of the items in the 2020 Memorandum of Action (MOA), had been dealt with exhaustively, while some were being addressed.

“We have only one or two areas that are new. One of the new areas is the renegotiation of the Conditions of Service, which is called the `2009 Agreement’.

“An agreement was reached in 2009 that their Conditions of Service would be reviewed every five years. It was done in 2014.

“We started one in which the former UNILAG Pro- Chancellor, Wale Babalakin (SAN), was chairing the committee.

“’After Babalakin, Prof. Manzali was in charge and the committee came up with a draft document, proposed by the Federal Ministry of Education and ASUU.

“Today, Manzali’s committee has become defunct because many of the people in the committee are no longer pro-chancellors,’’ the minister explained.

Ngige said that a new team had been constituted to take a second look at that document.

“This is to make sure that some of the allowances are not against the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) fixed rates for wages and allowances.

“If you propose allowances that do not comply with NSIWC rates, the government will not be able accept it.

“So, it is important that they do the right thing from the beginning so that whatever the committee presents can be approved by the Federal Executive Council,’’ he said.

Ngige also said that the meeting fixed a timeline of six weeks for the new committee set up by the education ministry to round up everything on the Conditions of Service.

He noted that on the issue of University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) for the payment of salaries, the meeting mandated a joint committee to conduct an integrity test on the platform in conjunction with neutral experts.

The joint committee has ASUU, the National Universities Commission, and the National Information Technology Development Agency as members.

“We told them to conclude the test by March 8. If they conclude, we are expected to work on it within six weeks,’’ Ngige said.

ASUU had agitated for the adoption of UTAS to pay varsity lecturers’ salaries in preference to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System insisted upon by the Federal Government.

Ngige said there was no problem with the issue of Earned Academic Allowances, apart from the reconciliation of payments made in tranches to the university system.

“Once we conclude the reconciliation, if the Federal Government is in arrears on any tranche, the finance minister will look for money to pay; even though the Federal Government does not have money.

“Earned allowance is an allowance for excessive workload. Last year, it was paid based on the rule of the thumb theory of 10 per cent of total personnel cost.

“This year, we have told the National Universities Commission to put up a committee and within the next three weeks, come up with a figure that will be sent to the finance minister.

“For me, I think, we are on course, ASUU should go to their members, show them offers made to them by government so that they can call off the strike,’’ Ngige said.

Earlier, the President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said members, students and Nigerian people want to see an action from the government.

“The education sector in Nigeria is in crisis and money is being lost at the primary, secondary and tertiary education levels,’’ he said.

He noted the quantum of money that ought to have been used to fund education in Nigeria was being lost to other countries.

Osodeke, therefore, called for a declaration of emergency in the sector to solve the problem.

Education

Kano Govt. insists schools remain closed till April 6

Published

1 week ago

March 6, 2025

Seyi Babalola

The Kano State Government has directed all private and voluntary schools in the state to strictly adhere to the 2024/25 school calendar issued by the Ministry of Education.

The Director of Special Duties, Ministry of Education, Mustapha Yahya, made this known in a statement on Thursday and obtained by PUNCH.

“All primary and post-primary schools in Kano state must close on Friday, February 28, 2025, and reopen on Sunday, April 6, 2025,” it reads.

The statement further warned that any school that fails to comply will face penalties. “Schools that fail to comply with this directive will face appropriate sanctions,” it stated.

He said the directive aligns with the state government’s policy under Governor Abba Yusuf to enhance teaching and learning while ensuring balanced and sustainable school operations.

“This measure is to ensure improved teaching and learning while promoting balanced and sustainable growth in schools across the state,” the statement added.

The Ministry of Education reaffirmed its commitment to providing high-quality education and enforcing adherence to the approved calendar.

Education

Tinubu approves conversion of YABATECH to university

Published

4 weeks ago

February 15, 2025

Seyi Babalola

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa yesterday disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has approved the conversion of the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) to a university.

He broke the good news to the management, staff and students of the 78-year-old institution during a working visit to YABATECH.

His words: “The rector said some minutes ago that the management, staff and students of the college have been praying and fasting that it be converted to a university. Somehow, you have kind of ambush me, but I must let you know that when I discussed the issue with President Bola Tinubu, he did not waste time in giving approval. I am just waiting for the memo and other necessary protocols from the appropriate quarters.

“This school is a legacy and with over 200 staff members holding doctorate degrees in various fields, it is more than ready and fit to become a university. All the credit about this should go to the President, who loves education and is concerned about giving the best to the youths, who are our future leaders.”

The education minister Alausa went round the institution to commission and inspect some ongoing projects, expressed satisfaction with the maintenance culture of the management that has kept the facilities in good shape despite their age.

He commended YABATECH management for pursuing excellence, adding, “we need innovation and investments in technology for development and I can assure you that the federal government will back you up.”
Alausa observed that one of the reasons the Tinubu administration is focusing on technical and vocational education as well as entrepreneurship is to stem the “Japa Syndrome” among the youths.
Said he: “We are not taking the issue of Artificial Intelligence, robotics, coding and others with levity. We know that if our youths are good at those things, they can be in Nigeria and be working for firms in many parts of the world and they will be earning foreign exchange. That will help stem this “Japa syndrome” of a thing, where people would travel abroad to do menial jobs.”
The minister said that for over three decades, Nigeria abandoned technical and vocational education and focused on producing graduates, who are always after white collar jobs and that now, the focus has changed.
“In Europe and other places, the focus has been on incorporating TVET to become a core aspect of their education system and that is what we are doing now. We need education that would aid manufacturing and technological innovations and that will also lead to a robust private sector which will drive societal growth and development, ” Alausa stated.
In his remarks, the Rector, Dr Ibraheem Abdul, said with over 200 PhD holders in its services, YABATECH was more than qualified to become a university.
He added: “While we are praying that we become a university, we don’t want to become just one of those universities. We want to be a university of Technical and Vocational Education that would bring innovation and also solve societal problems and challenges and contribute greatly to the advancement of our country. We have the manpower and we just need the support of the government in this regard,” the rector noted.
He highlighted various achievements recorded under his administration and vowed that the management would not relent in raising the stakes higher.
The Chairman, Governing Council, Prof. Funso Afolabi, lauded the education minister for the visit and appealed to him in supporting their demands.
“The bill that would state the change in status of YABATECH and the new name it would bear is expected to be sent to the National Assembly for passage and presidential assent,” Afolabi stated.

Education

FG makes U-turn on proposed scrapping of JSS, SSS system of education

Published

1 month ago

February 7, 2025

Seyi Babalola

Federal Government has made a U-turn on the proposed scrapping of the Junior and senior secondary school system replacing it with 12 years compulsory education.

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, told journalists at a press conference in Abuja, on Friday, that policy is at the proposal level and final decision has not been taken on the matter.

It was reported on Friday that the National Council of Education (NCE) has approved the scrapping of senior secondary system of education.

More details later..