ASUU - As the deadline given by Federal Government to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to call off the six month-old strike or be sacked expires tomorrow, several universities have opened registers to be signed by the lecturers even as the leadership of ASUU insisted that the strike will continue.
Lectures Resume at AAUA
At Ondo state-owned AdekunleAjasinUniversity, Akungba Akoko (AAUA) lectures resumed, yesterday, but few lecturers and students were seen in the lecture theaters. Lectures were held in the Department of History and the Faculty of Education as time table for the session has been released by the university authority. The university, in a reminder, by the Registrar, Mr. Bamidele Olotu 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.
ESUT Lecturers, Students back to School
Students and lecturers of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) have also 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.
It was however a different story at the Enugu campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka 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.
Lecturers shun Registers at UI
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.
Uniben students stay away to honour Iyayi
At the University of Benin, in spite of announcement by the university authorities that academic activities would resume today, there were no signs of resumption in the university yesterday, as both the Ekenwa and Ugbowo campuses were empty.
Students of the university said they would not resume until the remains of Professor Festus Iyayi who they held in high esteem is buried. Vanguard also learnt that ASUU members in both UNIBEN and the state owned Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma were not ready to resume duties today.
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.
No Lecturers at Ambrose Ali University
Meanwhile, at the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, there were no signs that the university would soon re-open as no student was at the two campuses of the university at Emuado and the main campus. A lecturer who spoke with Vanguard on condition of anonymity said there has been no directive from the state government for the re-opening of the institution. He said the lecturers would continue to stay at home until ASUU leaders give the directive to go back to work.
Lecturers shun Directives at Unijos, Abu, FUT Minna, and others
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.
The situation was the same at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, AbiaState, the two campuses of the Bayero University Kano, Federal University of Agriculture, FUT, Minna, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and Gombe State University as the lecturers and students have shunned the directive to resume.
Source: Vanguard
No comments:
Post a Comment