WorldStage Newsonline--
Lecturers of the colleges of
education in Nigeria under the
umbrella body of Colleges of
Education Academic Staff Union
(COEASU) on Monday commenced
a seven-day warming strike to
press home their demands from
the Federal and States
Governments.
The Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) has been on
indefinite for over two months.
Chairman of COEASU at the
Adeyemi College of Education
(ACE), Ondo and the National
Vice-President of the union,
Samuel Akintunde and Smart
Olugbeko, led other members in
the protest march that preceded
the commencement of the strike
action today.
They shut the main entrance into
the college and brought
academic activities on campus to
a halt as they embarked on
protest march.
The union leaders said COEASU
embarked on the strike action
over failure of the Federal
Government to honour the
gentleman agreement it entered
with the teachers' union in 2009.
Besides, it condemned the
protracted delay in the release of
the White Paper of the
Presidential Visitation panels to
Federal Colleges of Education.
COEASU argued that the delay
was a deliberate attempt to
ignore the critical issues that the
panels unearthed.
It also rejected the introduction
of Integrated Personnel Payment
System (IPPIS), stressing that it
was not only retrogressive, but
infringed on the very laws
establishing colleges of
education and the regulatory
body; thereby capable of
obstructing the smooth running
of colleges of education.
The union urged both Federal
and State governments to fund
education sector maximally given
its strategic necessity as an
indispensable need in the
development strides of any
nation.
Following the strike, the
management of Adeyemi College
of has suspended the on-going
examinations in the school,
urging the students to remain
calm until COEASU call off the
strike.
Deputy Provost of ACE, Olufemi
Olajuyigbe told journalists that
the request for weaver to allow
the students finish their exams
was turned down by the local
chapter of COEASU in order not to
incur the sanction of the national
body.
Olajiyigbe, however pleaded with
the Federal Government to save
the education sector from total
collapse with the on-going strike
action by tertiary institutions in
the country. Myschool.com.ng
