In light of the ongoing strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Federal Government has promised to spend N200 billion in the 2014 for the universities. Besides, a similar amount would be spent in the next three-four years until Nigerian universities are brought to world-class standard. This is in addition to the N100 billion already disbursed for 2013. This information is contained in an internal statement by Vice-Chancellor of Federal University of Otuoke, Professor Bolaji Aluko. The statement was seen on Wednesday night by SaharaReporters. The FG 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 explained that: “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.” Aluko also explained that this move of the FG followed the meetings held on September 19 and October 11 between the representatives of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities led by CVC Chairman, Prof. Hamisu of ATBU and ASUU Representatives led by its President, Dr. N. Fagge with the Vice-President of Nigeria, Arc. Namadi. Sambo, Minister of Education Barr. N. Wike and others. Of great interest to stakeholders, Vice-President Sambo, appealing to ASUU to call off the strike, apologized for the “take-it-or-leave-it” comments credited to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, at the onset of the strike. Other points of agreement at the meetings include the following: Project Prioritization: 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: Government assured 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 Suswan Committee. The new one is under the Federal Ministry of Education and chaired by the Honorable 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 IMC to monitor progress. Blueprint: ASUU was mandated to submit a blue print for revitalizing the Universities to the Vice President. Aluko also stated that a signed document will soon be issued to itemize the full issues on which the consensus he had outlined here, as brokered by AVCNU, was reached. It will be reminded, however, that seven weeks after the FG announced that it had commenced implementation of the agreement signed with the ASUU by disbursing N100 billion to 59 public universities, the affected tertiary institutions have raised alarm that they are yet to receive the fund. ASUU has been on an indefinite strike since June 30. The lecturers protest against the FG’s failure to honour a 2009 agreement signed between it and ASUU in 2009 pertaining to issues of university funding and improvement of infrastructure in the sector.

On the first day of July this year, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, began an indefinite strike that has lasted till date and may run deep into the future. According to the union, the strike followed government’s inability to keep to an October 2009 agreement reached by both parties. The agreement was reached after two years of negotiation between the lecturers and a government team appointed by the then Education Minister, Obiageli Ezekwesili. The Government team was led by the then Pro- chancellor, University of Ibadan, Gamaliel Onosode while ASUU’s team was led by its then president, Abdullahi Sule-Kano. The agreement reached at the negotiations included conditions of service for university lecturers, funding of universities, university autonomy and academic freedom, and issues that required legislation to implement. Details of that agreement were held as confidential by both ASUU and the government, leaving the public to feed on crumbs of information thrown out at negotiation meetings between the two parties. Premium Times has now obtained a copy of the agreement and is now making it available for public viewing. ( Download a copy here ). The agreement The agreement included details such as the breakdown of lecturers’ salary structure, staff loans, pension, overtime, and moderation of examinations. Part of the agreement dwelt on funding of universities where both parties agreed that each federal university should get at least N1.5 trillion between 2009 and 2011 while state universities, within the same period, should receive N3.6 million per student. The agreement also had parts that asked the re- negotiation committee to ensure that at least 26 percent of Nigeria’s annual budget was allocated to education, and half of that allocation to universities. The agreement also asked that the 2004 Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Act, and the National University Commission Act 2004, be amended. Text of the suggested amendment bills – including suggestion for amendment of the Education (National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions) Act 2004 – were provided in the agreements. The agreement was signed by Bolanle Babalakin, the then chairman of Committee of Pro-Chancellors of Federal Universities; Gamaliel Onosode, chairman of the re-negotiation committee; and Ukachukwu Awuzei, the then president of ASUU. The agreement demanded a heavy financial commitment from the government and was an adaptation of an earlier agreement reached in 2001. It is unclear how much of the agreement have been implemented by the government. However, the secretary to the federation, Pius Anyim, after one of the recent failed negotiations, said that most of the issues contained in the 2009 agreement, had been fully met except for the earned allowances estimated at N92 billion. “Some of the issues which bothered on amendment of pensionable retirement age of academics in the professorial cadre, consolidated peculiar allowances (CONPUAA)- exclusively for university teaching staff, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), setting up of budget monitoring committee in all public universities have been fully implemented,” he disclosed. ASUU Chairman, Nasir Fagge,could not be reached to confirm how much of the agreement have been implemented.