registers to be signed by the
lecturers as the deadline given by
the Federal Government to the
Academic Staff Union of Universities,
ASUU, to call off the six month-old
strike or be sacked expires
tomorrow.
At the University of Ibadan, ASUU
members resolved not to sign any
register as directed by the
government. The lecturers took the
decision during a congress held in
the institution yesterday.
This came as all lecture rooms in
various faculties were under lock
and key. The campus was a ghost of
itself as few people were seen
moving around. Apart from the fact
that students feel the government’s
order would not help the face-off,
the advice given by the academic
union to parents that they should
not expose their wards to danger
may have been adhered to by most
parents.
Speaking with newsmen, the
chairman, UI chapter of ASUU, Dr
Olusegun Ajiboye said the union
remained on course at ensuring that
government funds public
universities.
Though, he stated that the union
respects the office of Mr President,
he alleged that Dr. Doyin Okupe
and others in his government were
trying to ridicule the office of the
President through their unguarded
utterances against the union.
There were also no signs of
resumption at the University of
Benin in the university yesterday, as
both the Ekenwa and Ugbowo
campuses were empty despite the
announcement by the university
authorities that academic activities
would resume.
Students of the university said they
would not resume until the remains
of Professor Festus Iyayi who they
held in high esteem is buried.
ASUU chairman, UNIBEN chapter,
Dr. Tony Monye when contacted
said they were busy preparing for
the burial of Professor Festus Iyayi
even as he added that ASUU
members would not resume duties.
At the University of Jos, the
governing council directed heads of
departments to open attendance
registers for academic staff.
Registrar of the university, Danjuma
Jilly-Dandam in a statement
yesterday, also requested
departments to publish lecture time
tables by today (Tuesday) to signal
the resumption of academic
activities and keep daily compliance
registers for academic staff that
report for work.
However, despite the directive,
lecturers were not visible at both
the Bauchi Road and Naraguta
campuses of the institution as only
the non-academic staff members
were seen in their offices.
Students are also yet to return to
school as hostels remained largely
desolate when Vanguard visited,
yesterday.
However, students and lecturers of
the Enugu State University of
Science and Technology (ESUT) have
returned to school following a
directive by the school authorities.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN,
correspondent who monitored the
situation at the Enugu and Agbani
campuses of the university reports
that the students were in their
various departments exchanging
pleasantries and checking the notice
boards.
At the faculties of engineering and
management sciences in the Enugu
campus, students in their numbers
were copying the second semester
examination timetables pasted on
the notice boards.
The lecturers, on the other hand,
held a meeting with the governing
council of the university at the
Agbani campus on the resumption
of work.
Addressing the lecturers, chairman
of the council, Chief Chilo Offiah,
appealed to them to sheathe their
swords and return to classes in the
interest of the students. Offiah
thanked the lecturers for attending
the meeting and assured them that
the council would do all it could to
ensure the improvement of their
welfare.
The executive members of the ESUT
branch of the Academic Staff Union
of Universities (ASUU), which called
the strike, did not attend the
meeting.
At the Enugu campus of the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the
story was different, as only a few
students and lecturers were on
campus. NAN reports that the few
lecturers were in their various
offices discussing or reading while
the non-academic staff members
were busy working. Some of the
lecturers who spoke on conditions
of anonymity said they were waiting
for directives from both the school
authorities and the ASUU branch.
“We heard on the radio that we
should resume classes but we have
not received any circular to that
effect,” some of them said. Only
the medical students who did not
join the strike were fully on
campus.
At the Ondo state-owned Adekunle
Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko
(AAUA), lectures resumed,
yesterday, but few lecturers and
students were seen in the lecture
theaters. Lectures however held in
the Department of History and the
Faculty of Education as time table
for the session has been released
by the university authority.
In a reminder, by the Registrar, Mr.
Bamidele Olotu, the university
confirmed the resumption of
lectures. Olotu said in a statement
that: “In line with an earlier circular
to all students on resumption for
the second semester 2012/2013
academic session, all students of
Adekunle Ajasin University,
Akungba-Akoko in particular, their
parents and the public in general
are hereby informed that
commencement of lectures on
Monday, December 2, 2013,
remains sacrosanct as announced. It
added that “registration had indeed
commenced in accordance with the
university approved academic
calendar.”
Some of the academic staff who
spoke with the Information Unit of
the university but would not want
their names in print confirmed that
they had resumed for work and that
they attended the faculty board
meetings held on Monday and
Tuesday last week. Some of the
students who also spoke said they
were happy about the
development. They urged ASUU to
cooperate with the Management
and expressed optimism that
lectures would begin in full swing as
announced.
No comments:
Post a Comment