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  Edo university management absolves VC of causing institution’s problems] Management of Ambrose Alli University, AAU has cautioned members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma chapter to refrain from pursing personal vendetta, vilification and malicious mudslinging on the person of Prof. Ignatius Onimawo, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, over the issue of funding of the institution. The institution’s management assured that efforts were being made by the state governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki to redress the current funding situation at the state own varsity. This is coming on the heels of the incessant onslaught on the Vice Chancellor by the university’s branch of ASUU. The institution’s ASUU leadership had accused Prof. Ignatius Onimawo as allegedly responsible for a possible prolonged strike in the university following an indefinite strike action embarked by members on 25th March. Edward Aihevba, the University spokesman, in ...

  Nigerian government says ASUU demands can’t be met now Three months after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) suspended its nine-month strike, the union may decide to shut down universities again. The union recently issued a notice saying another industrial action was imminent because the Federal Government has failed to fulfil its agreement with the union. In December 2020, the union suspended its nine-month strike after the Federal Government agreed to address lecturers’ demands on revitalisation of public universities, salary shortfall, neglect and poor funding of state universities among others. But in an interview with a national daily the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba criticised the union’s plan to embark on another industrial action, saying it is a disservice to the students. Nwajiuba said the FG can’t fulfil some of ASUU’s demands now because it’s been difficult for the government to run the lives of over 200 million people with less th...

  High-powered Federal Government negotiating team will be meeting with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Friday in a bid to secure an agreement to call off the nine months old indefinite strike by university lecturers. A notice of the meeting signed by the Deputy Director/Head of Press and Public Relations, Mr. Charles Akpan, and made available to newsmen Thursday said that the Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, will be meeting with members of ASUU on Friday. The statement said the meeting was scheduled for the Minister’s Conference Room by 11am. Although, the agenda of the meeting was not indicated, there was a statement that went viral on Wednesday, stating that ASUU has suspended its indefinite strike. However, credible sources from both ASUU and federal government have described the strike suspension statement as fake. Newsmen investigations gathered that tomorrow’s meeting was convened by the federal government to try to end the indefinite s...

  The hopes of the University students to return to schools soon may have been dashed as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said that the Federal Government (FG) has not demonstrated any willingness to end the strike as it has refused to meet any of its demands to warrant students resumption despite various engagements. The union particularly accused the FG of peddling lies and misinforming the public about the demands of ASUU in order to paint the union black in the eyes of the stakeholders. Zonal Coordinator of ASUU Ibadan zone comprising the University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osun State University and Kwara State University, Professor Ade Adejumo said this at a press conference in Ilorin on Wednesday. Chairpersons in the Zone in attendance were Prof Moyosore Ajao, ASUU, UNILORIN, Prof Ayoola Akinwole ASUU, UI, Dr Biodun Olaniran – ASUU, LAUTECH, Dr Femi Abanikanda ASUU,UNIOSUN and Dr Dauda Adeshola ASUU, KWASU. ...

  The University of Ibadan has graduated a total of 854 students out of which a total of 528 students graduated with first degrees in various disciplines across all faculties. 220 persons were awarded Master degrees, 89 postgraduate diplomas were awarded while 37 candidates were awarded Doctor of Philosophy Degrees, PhDs. Also, the university was ranked 401 in the first 500 universities in the world by the Times Higher Education for 2021, despite challenges of funding. Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Abel Idowu Olayinka, who stated this at the 72nd foundation day celebration of the University on Tuesday, said honorary degrees and fellowships were also conferred on Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma, Dr Olaywola Francis, Chief Mrs. Comfort Ayodele Idowu and Mr. John G. According to him: “A total of 528 students graduated with first degrees in various disciplines across all faculties of the institution, while 220 persons were awarded Master degrees. “89 postgraduate diplomas were...

  President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that the federal government would meet all agreements with unions in the educational sector. Buhari gave the assurance while expressing concern over the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU. He appealed to the lecturers to return to their duty posts. The President spoke at the 2020 convocation and 72nd founding day celebration of the University of Ibadan, on Tuesday. Buhari was represented at the ocassion by the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Rasheed. He urged all unions in the educational sector to embrace dialogue, rather than confrontation. “I wish to assure all stakeholders, in the education sector, that the Federal Government will continue to meet its obligations and agreements with all unions. “It is my earnest desire that all unions should shed the toga of confrontation and embrace dialogue, for the sake of our children and the development of our educationa...

The Education Right Campaign has urged parents and students to prepare for a nationwide protest over the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities. This was contained in a press statement by ERC’s Deputy National Coordinator, Ogunjimi Isaac Ayobami, and ERC National Mobilisation Officer, Michael Lenin, on Tuesday. The statement was titled, ‘ASUU strike: ERC calls on FG to meet ASUU demands so that the universities can be re-opened… Calls on students and parents to embark on nationwide protests and demonstrations to compel government to fund public education’. The group accused the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, of making false promises that the strike would end soon. It read in part, “From our own understanding, the picture painted by the Minister which gives the impression that the federal government has nearly met all of ASUU demands is patently false, deliberately misleading and mischievous. “We want to put on record that it is this kind of distastef...

  Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, yesterday told students and their parents not to expect suspension of ongoing strike by its members soon, advising lecturers to seek alternative means of survival. The union’s Abuja Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Theophilus Lagi, who stated this at a briefing at the University of Abuja campus, vowed to press home with the strike until government bowed to its demands. It accused the government of not showing commitment in resolving the issues that necessitated the ongoing industrial action. The union stated: “Today, we wish to let Nigerians, especially our students and parents know that there is no hope in sight to ending or suspending the ASUU strike that has lingered for several months as government is yet to show serious commitment towards addressing our core demands. “Our members have been advised to seek other legitimate means of survival as the government has not released salaries withheld since February, 2020.’’ The union particularly a...

  The Nigeria Labour Congress on Tuesday said it would be difficult for the Academic Staff Union of Universities to call off its ongoing industrial action. President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, stated this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Aviation to present the position of the union on the six bills being considered by the panel to transform the agencies in the sector. He said ASUU could not call off the strike when the issue under consideration still lingered. Asked if NLC would advise ASUU to resume while negotiations continues, Wabba said, “That is not how negotiations are done.” “ If before the action commences, we were able to reach a negotiation, then we would have resolved the issues. “We are already on the action before those issues arose. I don’t think that is the best way to go. Government should show enough commitment to resolve the issue once and for all.” On the fuel hike, Wabba said, “What we said in our agreement is that all the palliatives must be imple...

  A rights advocacy group, Network for Democracy and Development (NDD), has appealed to the federal and state governments to save public universities from avoidable collapse. The non-profit organisation also pleaded with both the government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to ”show courage by working out mutually-benefiting compromises in the overall interest of the students, the education sector and the nation.” ASUU has been on a nationwide strike since March 23 to demand their revitalisation allowance, Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, visitation panels, among others. Newsmen reported how ASUU asked the federal government to discard the payment platform, IPPIS, as a condition to call off the eight- month-old strike in the country. The union also said that what has stalled the discussion is the government insisting that payment of the withheld salaries and other entitlements of lecturers would only be effected through IPPIS. Mea...

  COVID-19 has drastically cut international student participation in U.S. colleges and universities, punctuating three years of declining enrollment tied to costs, immigration barriers and perceived chaos in American society. Annual Open Doors report of international students in US shows increase in total international enrollment from previous year, but a decrease in new international student enrollment In the school year that began three months ago, new enrollment of international students dropped 43% because of COVID-19. Nearly 40,000 students — mostly incoming freshmen — have deferred enrollment at 90% of U.S. institutions to a future term. The data were compiled and reported by the Institute for International Education and published in its annual Open Doors report about international students in the U.S. It is funded by the U.S. Department of State, which issues visas to students and visitors participating in educational or vocational training. “The COVID-19 pandemic has impac...

  The continued on going nationwide strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), will encourage the government to review its neo-liberal strategy to commercialize education and the consequent abysmal neglect of public universities in the area of adequate funding. The Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma Chapter of ASUU, while justifying the unabated nation-wide strike of the Union insisted that the strike is the only avenue to compel the authority to respond to plight of the citizens, calling on Nigerians, especially the parents to bear with union as no good thing comes without pain. AAU ASUU which stated this in a statement titled “The Survival of Public Universities in Nigeria and the Desirability of the Ongoing Nationwide Strike” stated that the government should be adequately confronted for its plan to raise the cost of education beyond the reach of the vast poor majority of Nigerians In the statement signed by Dr. Monday Igbafen, the Chairperson of ASUU AAU Ekpo...

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has said it has not reached any concrete agreement with the government on how to end its over seven months’ strike. This is just as the union faulted the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige, for saying in an interview at the weekend that six out of the nine demands by the union had been met by the government. Speaking in a chat on Sunday with newsmen, the National President of ASUU, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, while taking the demands one by one, asked Nigerians to see which one had been met by the government. “As far as we are concerned, nothing has been delivered to our members and our members don’t want empty promises. Let us take the issues one after the other. “The withheld salaries of our members which is between four to eight months have not been paid, if paid, accounts of our members would have been credited. Same for Earned Academic Allowances, yet to be paid. “Visitation Panels have not been constituted for the universities, if th...