The Senate on Wednesday appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities ( ASUU), to call off its nationwide industrial action in the interest of the country.
The indefinite strike action embarked upon by ASUU members entered its 4th day on Thursday.
The upper legislative chamber described the strike by the University teachers as a surprise to it having intervened earlier in the year when ASUU embarked on warning strike.
It said that its intervention facilitated renegotiation of some outstanding issues between ASUU and the Federal government on the implementation of the 2009 agreement.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, Senator Jubrin Barau who made the plea at media briefing in Abuja said ASUU needed to call off the strike for renegotiation proper to commence between it and the Federal Government.
Barau noted that the industrial action should not have been the first option by the university teachers since the Senate and by extension, the National Assembly, has shown tremendous concern to the resolution of the disagreement between ASUU and the Federal Government.
He said, “This strike action by ASUU is as a result of not having confidence in the committee set up by the federal government to renegotiate the 2009 agreement. But we in the Senate are surprised that ASUU did not report back to us on problems being encountered with the executive on the agreement before embarking on the strike.
“The committee therefore calls on ASUU to reconsider its position, shelve the strike action and return for renegotiation with the federal government on the said agreement. “
Barau said that the committee and its counterpart in the House of Representatives will monitor the renegotiation by ensuring that the needful was done for ASUU and the universities by the federal government.
He said that ASUU should go back to class while renegotiation of the 2009 agreements continues.
On the rush for acquisition of university education abroad by children of the rich said that the trend cannot be outlawed.
He noted that no matter how detrimental the trend might be to the growth of universities in the country, it would difficult to outlaw it.
He insisted that outlawing going outside the country for university education would amount to turning Nigeria to an Island unto itself.
He said, “Outlawing such a practice has never been done in any part of the world, meaning that no matter how detrimental it may be to our own university system or standard, it has to continue and be embraced by those who can afford it.
” What the Senate and by extension, the National Assembly can do and in fact have been doing, is to continue collaborating with the executive and in particular, relevant bodies regulating our education sector, to put it in proper shape as a way of making our universities more attractive to Nigerians at home and even those abroad.”
The indefinite strike action embarked upon by ASUU members entered its 4th day on Thursday.
The upper legislative chamber described the strike by the University teachers as a surprise to it having intervened earlier in the year when ASUU embarked on warning strike.
It said that its intervention facilitated renegotiation of some outstanding issues between ASUU and the Federal government on the implementation of the 2009 agreement.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, Senator Jubrin Barau who made the plea at media briefing in Abuja said ASUU needed to call off the strike for renegotiation proper to commence between it and the Federal Government.
Barau noted that the industrial action should not have been the first option by the university teachers since the Senate and by extension, the National Assembly, has shown tremendous concern to the resolution of the disagreement between ASUU and the Federal Government.
He said, “This strike action by ASUU is as a result of not having confidence in the committee set up by the federal government to renegotiate the 2009 agreement. But we in the Senate are surprised that ASUU did not report back to us on problems being encountered with the executive on the agreement before embarking on the strike.
“The committee therefore calls on ASUU to reconsider its position, shelve the strike action and return for renegotiation with the federal government on the said agreement. “
Barau said that the committee and its counterpart in the House of Representatives will monitor the renegotiation by ensuring that the needful was done for ASUU and the universities by the federal government.
He said that ASUU should go back to class while renegotiation of the 2009 agreements continues.
On the rush for acquisition of university education abroad by children of the rich said that the trend cannot be outlawed.
He noted that no matter how detrimental the trend might be to the growth of universities in the country, it would difficult to outlaw it.
He insisted that outlawing going outside the country for university education would amount to turning Nigeria to an Island unto itself.
He said, “Outlawing such a practice has never been done in any part of the world, meaning that no matter how detrimental it may be to our own university system or standard, it has to continue and be embraced by those who can afford it.
” What the Senate and by extension, the National Assembly can do and in fact have been doing, is to continue collaborating with the executive and in particular, relevant bodies regulating our education sector, to put it in proper shape as a way of making our universities more attractive to Nigerians at home and even those abroad.”
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