From Ali Galadima, Bauchi
The zonal Coordinator Academy Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Baucji zone comprises of six Universities Professor Lawan has disclosed that the Union is never strike happy as they stand to loose many things but it has became the only option to draw government attention to decay I. The tertiary institutions.
He said “I am calling on members, students, parents and Universities administrators to support us, strike is not in our interest so that we can get of our classes, laboratories and researches. We want to be also in our classrooms, laboratories but the strike is our last option and no any other option left that we can draw government attention than strike, we are never strike happy we stand to loose a when when ever we embark on strike, but we see it as sacrifice”.
Professor Abubakar made the disclosure in an 8nterview with newsmen at the ASUU Secretariat Baucji.
Professor Abubakar said with time government would never be trust worthy again as the union is looking inward for another suitable alternative to replace strike even though is yet to locate one.
He explained that, “what our members are saying is that we cannot take the words of people in government any longer. What we will take is action and there is no need for us to sign anything with government any longer. What we want is faithful implementation of our needs not book work no more writing and signing an agreedment that show that the bridge of trust cannot continue for ever and time would come that we will put a stop to it”.
According to the ASUU leader, Government have not been up and doing in the memorandum of action signed with the Union when those issues were looked into by the union in 2012 and the they decided to draw the attention of government to the issues to the implementation with a two weeks warning strike.
He said the strike which started on the March 8, is expected to end on March 22, and resume work on March 23 but any failure from the side of government to act positively on their demands the strike may likely spill over.
“What ASUU want from government is attention to education which it so simply because of its important and the role education can play in development. Education suppose to show the way in the economic, development, security but those problems we have been having if government have been serious with education solutions to the problem would have been handy and we would have been in crisis of the security, crisis with the economic and crisis with infrastructure”.
He said the way government is handling education is very disappointing, while lamenting that the primary education is no where to be found, secondary education have been collapsed and what is remaining is tertiary institutions which is at the peak of collapse if not ASUU is intervening.
“At a time, then in the universities where you are in need of bouncing burner in the laboratory Universities were using stoup, where you needed water being running in the tap for experiment students where fetching water in bucket and guts where a lab is suppose to accommodate 20 students you see 200 students at that lab and most of them do not know. What was going on where a classroom is suppose to accommodate 25 students you see 250 students where a lecture theater is needed is an ordinary classroom that you get. Government started implementing the need assessment in 2013 after a strike by ASUU with 200b naira and since then government have decided to back out of the issue of funding and we are going back to square one”.
