ASUU rejects N600b offer

Varsity teachers remained adamant last night,
saying their strike would go on, despite the
government's shifting of its position. The strike
has been on for four months.
More cash has been pledged for projects on the
campuses. Besides, the earned allowances due
to the teachers have been increased from the
initial N30 billion offer, which the Academic Staff
Union of Universities (ASUU) rejected. The
teachers are insisting on the 2009 agreement,
which they say President Goodluck Jonathan was
part of. Besides, they say, they do not trust the
government.
According to a circular by the Vice Chancellor of
the Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State,
Prof. Bolaji Aluko, to the staff of the school,
quoted yesterday by the news website, Sahara
Reporters, the government has pledged to
spend N200 billion on the universities in the
2014 budget and the same amount annually for
the next three to four years.
This is in addition to the N100 billion already
made available this year, but which ASUU has
rejected.
The government has also increased to N40
billion, as a first installment, funds for the
payment of earned allowances to the striking
lecturers – an improvement from the N30 billion
previously released.
On the earned allowances, Aluko said:
"Government will top it up with further releases
once universities are through with the
disbursement of this new figure of N40 million.
So, Vice-Chancellors are urged to expedite this
disbursement within the shortest possible time
using guiding templates that have been sent by
the CVC," the circular said.
Aluko said the latest development followed
meetings on September 19 and Oct 11 of
representatives of the Association of Vice-
Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, led by its
Chairman, Prof. Hamisu of Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa University (ATBU) and ASUU
representatives led by its President, Dr.Nasir
Fagge, with Vice-President Namadi Sambo and
Minister of Education Nyesome Wike.
A source in the Ministry of Education last night
also confirmed that the meeting took place.
"But the government decided to leave the
announcement of the decision to the ASUU
chiefs," the source said.
It was gathered that Sambo urged ASUU to call
off the strike, as he apologised for the "take-it-or-
leave-it" comments credited to Minister of
Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the beginning
of the strike. The Minister did not seem to have
been involved in either meeting, perhaps as the
government's way of soothing the feelings of the
university teachers.
Other points of agreement at the meetings
include:
•Project Prioritisation: Universities will now be
allowed to determine their priorities and not be
"rail-roaded" into implementing a pre-
determined set of projects with respect to the
NEEDS assessment. Decisions are not to be
centralized;
•TETFund Intervention: The government assured
the teachers that the operations of the TETFund
will not be impaired, and that the regular
TETFund intervention disbursement to
universities will continue, unaffected. So the
NEEDS assessment capital outlays are in addition
to regular TETFund intervention;
•Project Monitoring: A new Implementation
Monitoring Committee (IMC) for the NEEDS
Assessment intervention for universities has
been set up to take over from the Suswam
Committee. The new one is under the Federal
Ministry of Education and chaired by the Minister
of Education. In addition, to build confidence
and ensure faithful implementation and prevent
any relapse as before, the Vice President will
meet quarterly with the implementors to monitor
progress.
.Blueprint: ASUU was mandated to submit a
blueprint for revitalising the universities to the
Vice President.
Prof. Aluko stated that a signed document will
soon be issued to itemise the full issues on which
the consensus was reached.
But ASUU last night was unimpressed with the
new offer. National Treasurer Dr. Ademola Aremu
said the offer failed to meet the teachers'
expectations.
He said the offer falls short of the agreement
signed with ASUU by the government.
Aremu insisted that ASUU would not end the
strike until the 2009 agreement is fully
implemented by injecting N500 billion into the
universities yearly to shore up the system's
quality.
Aremu, who spoke to our correspondent on the
telephone, said any offer below what is
contained in the signed agreement, would
amount to unilateral repudiation of an
agreement the government willingly signed in
2009.
According to the unionist, ASUU is not making
any new demand, but a mere implementation of
an agreement. He pointed out that the
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by
both parties in 2009 stated that the government
would commit N1.5 trillion to the system in three
years.
He said: " Even if the Federal Government made
that promise, it would be a unilateral repudiation
of the 2009 agreement. By now, the
government should have injected N500 billion.
That amounts to N100 billion in 2012 and N400
billion in the current year.
"As a matter of fact, any new commitment from
the Federal Government is belated.
Implementation of the agreement ought to have
started before this year. I don't think there is
any way we can trust this government, going by
its past behaviour on this issue.
"The mandate from our principal as at the last
time we met was that we won't end the strike
until the agreement is fully implemented.
"We do not need promises again. What we need
now is actual implementation. What if they do
not release the funds again after making the
promise?
"It was this same Mr President that mid-wifed
the agreement in 2009 when he was the Vice
President. The MoU was in his custody. He
studied the agreement well before asking then
President Umaru Yar'Adua to sign it. We can't
trust this government.