By Vera E. Abah
THE Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities (COPSUN) has cautioned state governments against the proliferation of universities. COPSUN however expressed its support for the No-Work-No-Pay rule invoked by the federal government in the face of the ongoing strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
ASUU has consistently blamed the governments at both the federal and state levels for establishing new universities while the existing ones remain underfunded.
The pro-chancellors, in their support the no-work-no-pay policy against university workers’ unions, said the decision will significantly address the challenge posed by the frequent shutdown of the university system by protesting workers.
In a communiqué issued at the end of its 57th Quarterly Meeting held at the Committee of Vice-Chancellor’s Conference Centre, Abuja, on Wednesday, signed by the its Secretary, Marcus Awobifa, COPSUN called on both the federal and state governments to improve on funding universities and enhance the welfare of the university workers.
According to the communiqué, the meeting was to review the state of the nation, and “particularly the ongoing ASUU indefinite strike action.” While calling on the government to increase the budgetary allocation for education, COPSUN also appealed to political parties jostling for power to initiate innovative reforms in the education sector in their manifestos to part ways with the persistent crisis in the sector.
“To maintain international best practices and be recognised among first rated Universities, the governments at Federal and State levels should improve on the funding of their universities and enhance the welfare of the workforce, adding that state governments should exercise restraint in establishing new universities but invest heavily on the existing ones to improve on the quality of their infrastructure,” the statement reads in part.
While it backed some of ASUU’s demands, COPSUN knocked the union for not backing down on its resolve to continue with the strike until the demands are fully met.
“The Pro-Chancellors believed that the damage caused by the disruption in the university system cannot be rebuilt by the reform being sought by the association,” it said.
COPSUN said it has always supported the call for reform in the education sector, but that the ongoing strike by the lecturers’ union has been unnecessarily prolonged and has become ‘obsolete.’ “ASUU cannot continue to apply the same strategy and expect a different result,” COPSUN stated, adding that the university system has lost over 50 months to strikes since 1999, “resulting in elongated academic calendars with the nation paying heavy price, as the students, parents and the university workforce have been put in perpetual position to miss and lose many life opportunities.”
It, however, said it is relieved that the Federal Government agrees that state universities can adopt or reject agreements reached with ASUU by the Federal Government. “COPSUN however reiterated that it would not be coerced to adopt hook, line and sinker any agreement to which it was not a party ab initio. It pledged that State-owned universities will continue to negotiate with their employees in accordance with the terms and conditions of their engagements.
