Posted on: 06:38 Thu, 03 Apr 2014
Latest Updates On The On Going
Strike By ASUP And COEASU.

Jonathan has intervenes in ASUP,
COEASU prolonged

*to meet officials on Monday to
finalise payment structure for the
striking staff

*meeting being facilitated by
Supervising Minister of Education
after COEASU and ASUP rejected
the two installmental payment
option
In a move to finally resolve the
prolonged strike by the Academic
Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP
and Colleges of Education
Academic Staff Union and other
allied unions, President Jonathan
will on monday begin direct
intervention to settle grey areas,
Scan News has learnt.
Sources at Presidency told Scan
News that the Supervising
Minister of Education had
comprehensivelybriefed the
President on the remaining area
of dispute, which is the
installmental payment of arrears
of allowances amounting to over
N40billion for all unions.
It was learnt that President
Jonathan will by Monday
alongside Presidential officials,
the Supervising Minister of
Education and officials of
National Board for Technical
Education, NBTE, National
Commission for Colleges of
Education, NCCE and Federal
Ministry of Education to finally
conclude plans on the payment
of the said arrears.
ASUP and COEASU have insisted
that the Federal Government pay
the entire N40billion at once. It
was gathered that at the last
meeting the Supervising Minister
of Education in a bid to convince
showed them the payment
schedule for ASUU earned
allowances which are being
settled in installments, the first
being N30billion.
Incidentally, the universities
haver more staff and spread than
the Polytechnics and Colleges of
Education.
Another meeting was later called
with the governing councils in
attendance. The same issue on
the mode of payment dominated.
The other key issues that have
been resolved are those of the
establishment of Needs
Assessment Committees and the
setting up of governing councils.
The office of thr Secretary to the
Government of the Federation
has concluded work on the
White Paper for Visitation Panels.
The white paper will be released
in the next few weeks.
Scan News investigations further
revealed that the disparity
between university and
Polytechnic graduates has been
formally referred to the National
Council on Establishment headed
by the Head of Service of the
Federation. The matter was
discussed at the last council
meeting in Ilorin, with the states
and Federal Government kick-
started the process to resolve the
challenge.
For infrastructuraldevelopment, it
was gathered that President
Jonathan stated that immediately
the Needs Assessment reports
are certified by the Federal
Executive Council.
Scan News gathered that in the
course of the last three years,
Jonathan administration has
invested over N150billion in
Colleges of Education and
Polytechnics through TETFUND
high impact and normal
interventions. The investments
wete targeted at workshops,
classrooms, laboratories and
training of lecturers.
Data obtained during the
briefings by rectors and provosts
of Polytechnics and Colleges
announced that
infrastructuraldevelopment in
their schools far exceeded what
was obtained decades ago.
Sources at the Presidency
expressed worry that ASUP and
COEASU have engaged in the
same false propaganda laced
with political undertones.
The shocker has been the
amount so far expended by ASUP
for television airtime on an
opposition TV netork in Lagos.
The group, it noted have
sponsored six live appearances
and big stories to promote false
propaganda. The same officials
have sponsored 12 news
conferences.
Few weeks ago, the National
Universities Commission, took
journalists on a tour of Ghanaian
universities, the journalists
discovered that ASUU misled
them on claims about the nature
of the universities. It was
discovered that Nigerian
universities were by far better,
but the instability created by
ASUU made the schools
unattractive to privileged
Nigerians.
Another clear indication that
ASUU misled Nigerians during
the conflict is the over N12billion
research grant ten Nigerian
universities by World Bank. Out
of 18 of such universities that
received the grant under the
African Centres of Excellence
platform, ten are from Nigeria.