ASUU urges FG to declare state of emergency on education

Opeyemi Adelere

The Academic staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kano State Zone, has called on the Federal Government to declare a five-year state of emergency in the education sector, while it allots 26 per cent of its allocation, at both the federal and state level, to resuscitate education sector.

Kano ASUU zonal coordinator, Prof Mahmoud Lawan, made the call while addressing a news conference in Kano, on Friday.

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According to Lawan, declaring a state of emergency through sufficient funding of education sector would go a long way in tackling the challenges bedeviling the sector in Nigeria.

“The zone firmly believes that the way out of this crisis is for the Federal Government to implement all outstanding provisions in the Feb. 7, 2019, FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action and
conclude the Negotiation of the 2009 Agreement within six weeks; constitute a Visitation Panel to all federal universities and the outcomes be fully implemented,” he said.

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He said the Federal Government should consider ASUU innovation tagged University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) describing it as a more robust system of human resource management and compensation.

Lawan also spoke on the situation at Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST), adding that the Kano zone was in full support of the current struggle of its members and urged them to remain steadfast.

He urged the university management and the Kano State Government to urgently address the contending issues in order to avert impending industrial action that could jeopardise the fragile academic calendar of the university.

“The zone also called the attention of the visitor to the university to ensure the immediate take-off of the Kano Educational Trust Fund, to serve as a sustainable funding option for education in the state,” he said.