ASUU Strike: Government Blinks, Agrees To Spend N200b Each For Four Years To Bring Nigerian Universities Up To World Standard

Towards ending the ongoing ASUU strike, the Federal
Government has committed to spending N200 billion in the 2014 budget
on the universities as well as on each of the next three-four years
until the universities are brought to world-class standard.  This is
in addition to the N100 billion dedicated and already made available
for 2013.
The government has also increased to N40 billion as a first
installment, funds for the payment of earned allowances to the
striking lecturers, an improvement from the N30 billion previously
released.
This information is contained in an internal Federal University of
Otuoke statement by Professor Bolaji Aluko, its Vice-Chancellor, seen
on Wednesday night by SaharaReporters.
On the earned allowances, he explained, "Government
will top it up with further releases once universities are through
with the disbursement of this new figure of N40 million, so
Vice-Chancellors are urged to expedite this disbursement within the
shortest possible time using guiding templates that have been sent by
the CVC," the circular said.
Professor Aluko said the development followed meetings on September 19
and Oct 11 of representatives of the Association of Vice-Chancellors
of Nigerian Universities, led by CVC Chairman, Prof. Hamisu of ATBU
and ASUU Representatives led by its President, Dr. N. Fagge with the
Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Arc.Namadi. Sambo,
Minister of Education Barr. N. Wike and others.
Of great interest to stakeholders, Vice-President Sambo, appealing to
ASUU to call off the strike, apologized for the "take-it-or-leave-it";
comments credited to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
at the onset of the strike.  The Minister did not seem to have been
involved in either meeting, perhaps as the government's way of
soothing the feelings of the university teachers.
Other points of agreement at the meetings include the following:
Project Prioritization: Universities will now be allowed to determine
their priorities and not be "rail-roaded" into implementing a
pre-determined set of projects with respect to the NEEDS assessment.
Decisions are not to be centralized.
TETFund Intervention: Government assured that the
operations of the TETFund will not be impaired, and that the regular
TETFund intervention disbursement to Universities will continue,
unaffected. So the NEEDS assessment capital outlays are in addition to
regular TETFund intervention.
Project Monitoring: A new Implementation Monitoring
Committee (IMC) for the NEEDS Assessment intervention for universities
has been set up to take over from the Suswan Committee. The new one is
under the Federal Ministry of Education and chaired by the Honorable
Minister of Education. In addition, 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.
Blueprint: ASUU was mandated to submit a blue print
for revitalizing the Universities to the Vice President.
Prof. Aluko further stated that a signed document will soon be issued
to itemize the full issues on which the consensus he had outlined
here, as brokered by AVCNU, was reached.