Towards ending the ongoing ASUU
strike, the Federal Government has committed to spending N200 billion in
the 2014 budget on the universities as well as on each of the next
three-four years until the universities are brought to world-class
standard. This is in addition to the N100 billion dedicated and already
made available for 2013.
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.
This information is contained in
an internal Federal University of Otuoke statement by Professor Bolaji
Aluko, its Vice-Chancellor, seen on Wednesday night by SaharaReporters.
On the earned allowances, he
explained, “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.
Professor Aluko said the
development followed meetings on September 19 and Oct 11 of
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 the Federal Republic 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. NgoziOkonjo-Iweala at the onset 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 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 becentralized.
- 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. Prof. Aluko further 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.
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