ASUU Strike: Universities Open Registers For Lecturers

Several universities have opened 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.