The College of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU, Northwest zone has called on the federal government to take administrative cognizance of the essence of it struggles and save the children of poor Nigerians.
Addressing newsmen on Sunday in Gusau, Zamfara state capital, COEASU Vice chairman and Northwest Zonal coordinator, Dr. Shehu Jabaka Mohammed lamented that the lingering issues between the federal government and unions is unhealthy.
“COEASU considered many lingering issues unhealthy for labour – government relationship as a result of inaction to address them”.
They revealed that the lingering impasse in talks between FGN and Unions in Tertiary Education institutions and subsector was unhealthy for the nation’s educational development.
“Council of COEASU wishes that FGN takes administrative cognizance of the essence of the struggles of the unions, which was not only limited to the academia but the entire nation’s development and to exhibit some flexibility”.
They urged the FG to do the needful to end the current spate of strike actions as a result of non-implementation of the various agreements reached with staff unions in tertiary institutions.
“FG’s Recalcitrant Insistence on IPPIS against more reliable alternative of UTAS. The Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) is causing more havoc to tertiary institutions than good”.
Members of COEASU maintained that Government has refused to heed the Union’s demand for the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), an alternative innovation of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
“Dilly-Dallying Posture of Government to Renegotiation of COEASU-FGN 2010 Agreement While the long-anticipated renegotiation of COEASU-FGN 2010 Agreement holds enormous promise for mutual resolution of several challenges bedeviling the COE system”.
According to them, FG has failed to accord the exercise deserved priority.
“Ridiculously, the FG has refused to constitute her own renegotiation team after acknowledging receipt of the Union’s team list, on her own request, for over two months now”.
“Poor Funding of Colleges of Education and Poor Conditions across State-owned COEs In spite of the Union’s agitations and Government’s persistent promise of redress”.
The aggrieved COEASU lamented that both Federal and State COEs remain poorly funded;”reign of impunity, statutory breach and administrative aberration persists”.
“The Union members, especially in State COEs, continue to suffer untold hardships through nonpayment of salary and salary arrears, refusal to implement the statutory salary structure in full, extraneous promotion criteria”.
Others are idiosyncratic policies, non/improper domestication of 65-year retirement age for workers in the COE system, multiple promotions without financial effects, repression of Union activities among others.
They further revealed that Many Colleges find it difficult to run smoothly due to non-release of running cost by Government.
“Many State Governments have abdicated their responsibility as proprietors to TETFund, as the only projects found in the Colleges are TETFund projects”.
