ASUU Strike: FG offers new deal; ...agrees N200billion increase in university funding

In a bid to end the four-month old strike by university lecturers, the Federal Government has agreed a N200 billion increase in university funding in the 2014 budget and for the next four years until the universities are brought to world standard, a university official has said.

An internal memo released by the Vice-Chancellor of Federal University Otuoke, Mobolaji Aluko, shows that the government took the decision following two meetings (on Thursday 19th Sept 2013 and Friday 11th Oct 2013) with representatives of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, ASUU, and Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, AVCNU.

Vice-President Namadi Sambo, and Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike led the government team, according to the memo.

The government also announced that the N30 billion already released to pay lecturers the contentious “Earned Allowances” has been increased to N40 billion.

The government also agreed to allowed universities to “determine their priorities and not be ‘rail-roaded’ into implementing a pre-determined set of projects with respect to the NEEDS assessment.”

Other decisions reached at the meetings, the memo said, are that the operation of TETFUND will not be impaired, as government has guaranteed a regular and unhindered disbursement of the TETFUND to universities; and the formation of a new Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC) for the NEEDS assessment interventions.

The IMC will take over from the Gabriel Suswan Committee and be located within the Ministry of Education and headed by the minister of education.

The IMC is, among other functions, expected to “build confidence and ensure faithful implementation and prevent any relapse as before, the Vice President will meet quarterly with the IMC to monitor progress.”

The government team, according to Mr. Aluko, also apologised for the take-it-or-leave-it comment credited to the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Parties at the negotiation appealed to the ASUU team to appeal to its members to consider the latest offering by the government and call off the strike and return to work preferably soon after the Sallah holiday.

Credit: Nicholas Ibekwe/Premium Times 

A good development in my opinion, ASUU abeg for the sake of the same student you are fighting for, accept this deal and call off the strike, biko.