We insist on 15% education allocation to end strike - ASUU tells FG
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has asked for 15 percent budgetary allocation before it can stop its incessant strike
- ASUU said it stopped calling off the strike this week as planned because it needed to consider the federal government's offer
- The union also said political commitment is key to totally ending the union's strike actions
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has asked for a 15% allocation from the national budget for education to stop continuous strike in the country.
The union rejected resuming the classrooms anytime soon, saying their leadership needs to properly consult with its branches on the latest federal government’s offer, The Guardian reports.
READ ALSO: We don’t have free money to give everybody - Buhari
ASUU president, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, disclosed on Monday, January 28, that staff members of the union were still consulting on federal government’s promises.
He said: “There are some aspects of our demands that government said it is implementing. Once we get a feedback from our branches, we will know what we have left to tackle. We hope to meet with the government during the week to see how far it has gone.”
When the union president was asked when the strike action would be solved, he said the federal government must be ready and committed to allocate minimum of 15% of the national budget to the education sector.
Since 2015, allocations to the education sector were N369 billion (6.10%); N550 billion (7.38%); N606 billion (7.03%) and N620.5 billion, which have been said to be insufficient.
Ogunyemi added: “To start with, not less than 15 per cent of the budget should be allocated to education. If government can faithfully implement this, our universities and public institutions would have quantum of resources.
“The second aspect is political commitment. Government should keep faith with agreements and understanding reached with staff unions. ASUU does not just go on strike. It would process available information and refers government to extant understanding, memoranda and agreements.”
However, when asked about the plans to probe universities of their expenditures, Ogunyemi commented that the universities could be probed based on the funds released to them.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has asked for 15 percent budgetary allocation before it can stop its incessant strike
- ASUU said it stopped calling off the strike this week as planned because it needed to consider the federal government's offer
- The union also said political commitment is key to totally ending the union's strike actions
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has asked for a 15% allocation from the national budget for education to stop continuous strike in the country.
The union rejected resuming the classrooms anytime soon, saying their leadership needs to properly consult with its branches on the latest federal government’s offer, The Guardian reports.
READ ALSO: We don’t have free money to give everybody - Buhari
ASUU president, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, disclosed on Monday, January 28, that staff members of the union were still consulting on federal government’s promises.
He said: “There are some aspects of our demands that government said it is implementing. Once we get a feedback from our branches, we will know what we have left to tackle. We hope to meet with the government during the week to see how far it has gone.”
When the union president was asked when the strike action would be solved, he said the federal government must be ready and committed to allocate minimum of 15% of the national budget to the education sector.
Since 2015, allocations to the education sector were N369 billion (6.10%); N550 billion (7.38%); N606 billion (7.03%) and N620.5 billion, which have been said to be insufficient.
Ogunyemi added: “To start with, not less than 15 per cent of the budget should be allocated to education. If government can faithfully implement this, our universities and public institutions would have quantum of resources.
“The second aspect is political commitment. Government should keep faith with agreements and understanding reached with staff unions. ASUU does not just go on strike. It would process available information and refers government to extant understanding, memoranda and agreements.”
However, when asked about the plans to probe universities of their expenditures, Ogunyemi commented that the universities could be probed based on the funds released to them.
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