Finally, after ten months, the conflict between Federal Government and the ASUP and COEASU has come to an end. For ten months, lecturers and government fired at each other from their trenches, with polytechnic students caught in the crossfire. Previous attempts to resolve the crisis has yielded no handsome results as both parties had refused to drop their arms so as to get chalk strolling proudly again across the polytechnics’ blackboards- with academic activities commencing!
As such this ceasefire is a big relief to students, some of whom might have forgotten their matric numbers and even the polytechnic engineering students who were becoming more comfortable calculating money sums (business) than solving for x!
Last Saturday, following10 months of inactivity, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics has suspended its indefinite strike action for three months to the relish of their students! The suspension was announced after the National Executive Council meeting of the union, the result of an earlier meeting with the recently appointed Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.
The Colleges of Education didn’t delay in complementing the ASUP as this was followed on Tuesday by the declaration that the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union has also suspended its eight-month strike in principle. This followed the intervention of the Chairmen of Governing Councils of Federal Colleges of Education.
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It would be remembered that ASUP had been on strike since October, 2013 while COEASU entered into a strike in December, 2013.
In both meetings with the unions, both ASUP and COEASU were assured that the differences that borne the strikes would be resolved.
“We believe that, considering the pedigree of the minister, the promises he has made, and the testimonies we have received concerning him, we have no reason to doubt his integrity and capacity to actually bring a lasting solution to the issues,” the President of ASUP, Chibuzo Asomugha, who ascertained the suspension of the strike, told newsmen last Saturday.
This was corroborated by the President, National Association of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, Mr. Asagha Nkoro. Nkoro told newsmen that he anticipates the full resolutions of the issues.
This is big goodnews as the full academic Nigerian community wants these issues to be finally trashed out. Also government should try to know the educational sector is supposed to be an “ajebutta” sector that should be petted!
