Break endless circles of labor unrest in varsities, VCs-tasked federal and state governments

By Joseph Erunke – Abuja

UNIVERSITY Vice Chancellors of the state have tasked the federal and state governments with breaking the circles of labor unrest, which has led to incessant strikes by lecturers at public universities.

It did so when they sought to work more closely with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to discuss local and global best practices in higher education.

The discussion, they said, will also focus on “innovative ways to address and overcome challenges and reflect deeply on the future of the Nigerian university system”.

The Vice Chancellors said so when their national body, under the aegis of the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, CVCNU, held an engagement meeting with Professor Victor Osodeke, President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, to discuss some issues that the Higher education concern in Nigeria.

The Chairman of the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Head of the VCs Delegation, Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo, who spoke, said that “federal and state governments must take the bull by the horn to break the endless circles of university union unrest”. for more than 30 years by thinking of creative solutions and the political decision to implement such solutions. “

A statement signed by Prof. Edoumiekumo and released on Monday said that the meeting took place last Friday, December 17, 2021.

”The Chairman of the CVCNU, who was accompanied by the Secretary General Professor Yakubu Ochefu, officially congratulated Prof. Osodeke on his appearance as National President and, on behalf of the General Assembly of Nigerian Vice Chancellors, wished him a very successful term.

“He recognized the tremendous effort ASUU has made over the years to reposition higher education in Nigeria.

“Professor Edoumiekumo stated that, as a key stakeholder in the Nigerian university system, it is important that both parties meet from time to time to discuss local and global best practices in higher education, innovative ways to address and overcome challenges, and think deeply about the future to discuss. “of the Nigerian university system”, it says in the statement.

It added: “The Chairman has x-rayed some of the current challenges, including the very poor funding of public universities, leaving a gap of 221 billion naira annually from 2018 to 2021; Problems in connection with the implementation of IPPIS at federal universities; University autonomy and the presence of several conflicting laws; the current status of the agreements of the FG / university trade unions; the ongoing problem with unions at IPPIS; and the poor security on the university campus.

“He affirmed that Nigerian public universities worldwide and regionally would not take their place of honor if we could not guarantee basic things like an academic calendar. “

The statement went on to say: “The chairman presented to ASUU a CVCNU report on the” 2022 State Budget Review As Affecting Nigerian Federal Universities, “which highlights some of the considerations in addressing funding challenges in Nigerian universities.

”Professor Edoumiekumo informed the National President during the meeting that in order to combat plagiarism and promote originality in academic research, the Committee of Vice Chancellors had developed EagleScan software to detect plagiarism.

“He stated that Eaglescan, like the University Transparency Accountability Software, UTAS, was developed by CVCNU in collaboration with the ICT directors of six Nigerian universities and is now fully ready for implementation in all Nigerian universities.

The chairman of CVCNU also notified ASUU of a draft model intellectual policy for Nigerian universities, developed in collaboration with the Nigerian Copyright Commission, and called for input from ASUU before the final draft is submitted to universities in 2022.

“ASUU National President Professor Osodeke thanked the CVCNU leadership for initiating the meeting and expressed the Union’s desire to work with all real actors who add value and make our universities better.

“He complained that there had been a rift in the relationship between CVCNU and ASUU recently, but enjoyed the meeting, which he hoped would go a long way towards building closer ties.

”He noted all of the questions raised by the CVCNU Chairman and that an appropriate response would be communicated to the committee in due course.

“He looked forward to meeting both panels in the first quarter of 2022 to discuss the more general issues raised by the CVCNU.

“According to him, Vice Chancellors have been very critical stakeholders in the university system, but over the years many of them have seen their roles and powers being eroded by third parties and becoming political officials rather than university administrators.

“He expressed concern about the politicization of the appointment of Vice Chancellors and how, in some cases, the decision of who becomes a VC is limited to the local government of the state where the university is located.

“He expressed his deep appreciation for the meeting and looked forward to the two organizations working together to formally reposition Nigerian universities in this volatile, unstable, complex and ambiguous (VUCA).

Former ASUU presidents such as Dipo Fasina, Nasir Fagge, Biodun Ogunyemi and other members of the National Executive Committee attended the meeting. “

Vanguard News Nigeria
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