Prof. Abdul Ganiyu Ambali, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin (Unilorin), has called on the Federal Government and the academic staff unions in universities to create a “Monitoring Committee on Agreement”.
Ambali, who made the call on Monday in Ilorin, told newsmen that this would help to forestall future disruption of academic activities.
He said this would ensure that agreements reached between both parties were faithfully implemented.
The Unilorin VC said the establishment of the committee was also necessary to minimise the chances of having conflicts which could be detrimental to tertiary education development in Nigeria.
“Whenever agreements are reached, we all know that all involved parties sign and the individuals go home with the signed documents.
“But nobody sits down to mediate between the two to ensure that what has been signed is being implemented.
“So, if there is a monitoring committee in place, ASUU can go to that committee and sound a note of warning that a particular aspect of the agreement is being neglected,” Ambali said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that ASUU began an indefinite strike on July 1.
This had followed what it called government’s inability to keep to the 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 touched issues such as conditions of service for university lecturers, funding of universities, university autonomy and academic freedom, and issues which required legislation to implement.
Ambali however expressed the continued commitment of Unilorin authorities to providing improved teaching and learning environment for students to achieve their academic pursuits.
He said the training and retraining of staff remained a top priority of his administration.
