By. Abdul Lawal
Minister of Education Adamu Adamu has debunked the news making the rounds that the Federal government has set up a 14. Member Committee to review the reports of previous committees on the ongoing Federal Government versus Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) crisis with a view to ending the over seven months strike by university lecturers.
Adamu said there was no need for such committee since government had presented a robust package for the consideration of the staff union.
The Minister spoke as a guest at Channels television’s “Politics today” program on Wednesday night said that what took place was discussion among some Vice Chancellors, Pro-Chancellors and Chairmen of Councils, where government explained the steps taken since the strike commenced in February this year.
” Government didn’t set up any 14-Man Committee, there was no need for that because government has offered its best to the striking lecturers”, he stated
According to him, what was termed as 14-man committee was informal discussion among the participants of the meeting drawn from various regions of the country and that such informal discussion doesn’t translate to a FG Committee
He said the news went viral on media reports but that in actual fact there was no such committee.
The Minister who rated Nigerian University system to be 7th position on the ratio of 1 to 10 added that, he felt burdened seeing Nigerian students staying at home instead of being in school.
He commended the efforts of Nigerian private Universities in helping to sustain university education in Nigeria.
The minister however insisted that Federal Government will not go back on the “No work,No pay” policy because he doesn’t believe the lecturers would make up for the lost academic session.
He further explained that the Federal government has offered a 23.5 per cent of salary increase for all categories of the workforce in Federal Universities except for the professorial group which would receive 35 per cent
As part of the meeting Adamu Adamu said allowances for ad-hoc duties of the academic and Non-academic workers would be paid as at when due by the governing councils of the Universities to which such services are rendered
In addition, the Minister said “the sum of N150nbillion shall be provided for the 2023 budget as funds for the revitalization of Federal Government Universities, to be disbursed to the institutions in the first quarter of the year” and that “a sum of N50billion shall be provided for the 2023 budget for the payment of outstanding areas of earned academic allowances, to be paid in the first quarter of the year”.
Pro.Chancellor of the Open University of Nigeria Professor Peter Okebukola had said at a meeting helf early this week that government was ready to go all out to ensure that the University lecturers return to school