By Sodiq Adelakun

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has appealed to the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resolve their differences and prevent a strike that could disrupt the academic calendar.

NANS Senate President, Henry Okunomo, made the plea on Sunday in Akure, urging the federal government to take immediate action to address the issues leading to the potential strike.

Okunomo emphasised the importance of finding common ground to avoid another disruption in the educational sector, which would negatively impact students.

He stressed that students have suffered enough from previous strikes and urged both parties to prioritise their interests.

The appeal comes as ASUU has threatened to embark on a strike over the federal government’s failure to meet its demands, including improved funding and working conditions.

“We are counting on the government to act decisively and with a sense of urgency to prevent the devastating impact of another strike,” said Mr Okunomo.

“We appeal to our lecturers to also embrace dialogue and shift ground where necessary to avoid collapse of the education system,” he added.

ASUU had issued a three-week ultimatum to the federal government over some outstanding demands.

Mr Okunomo urged President Bola Tinubu to allocate sufficient resources to the educational sector to improve infrastructure, provide necessary teaching aids, and ensure timely payment of salaries and benefits to lecturers.

He said establishing a continuous platform for dialogue between the government, university administrators and lecturers to address grievances before escalation was important to prevent academic disruption.

“We are all acutely aware of the recurring disruptions caused by strikes in our universities.

“These strikes, often due to unresolved issues between university lecturers and the government, have profound and far-reaching consequences on the educational journey of countless students.

“We, the students, are the primary stakeholders in this situation. Our voices, hopes, and futures hang in the balance,” said Mr Okunomo.

By Sodiq Adelakun

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticised the federal and state governments for prioritising political interests over the funding and development of public universities.

Speaking at a press conference in Damaturu, Yobe State, ASUU Chairperson, Melemi Abatcha, accused governments of treating university education as a political tool, establishing new institutions without adequate funding for existing ones.

Abatcha expressed concerns over the proliferation of public universities, stating that it has become a constituency project for politicians, rather than a priority for quality education.

He highlighted the challenges faced by academic staff, including insufficient funding, and lamented the neglect of existing universities.

“The federal government has not fulfilled its promises from 2023, including the allocation of N50 billion for the payment of the backlog of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) and the integration of EAA into salaries from January 2022,” he claimed.

Abatcha further stated that, despite lecturers covering their workloads during forced strikes, salaries remain withheld.

“Even with the directive of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the removal of ASUU from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform since December 2023, ASUU members are still being paid via the obnoxious platform (IPPIS).

“The removal of the fuel subsidy without viable alternatives has inflicted significant hardship on the populace, and we are eager to avoid exacerbating this situation with another disruption to academic activities,” he stated.

“Furthermore, we urge the government to demonstrate empathy for the struggles of Nigerians by promptly agreeing to and implementing a fair and reasonable living wage for Nigerian workers.”

By Sodiq Adelakun

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that it will hold a policy meeting on Friday, July 18, 2024, to determine the minimum cut-off marks for the 2024/2025 admission cycle into tertiary institutions in the country.

The meeting will also set admission guidelines for colleges of education, polytechnics, and universities.

According to JAMB’s weekly bulletin released on Monday by the Board’s Spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the policy meeting will be chaired by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, and will have in attendance stakeholders such as the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Council for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Heads of tertiary institutions, and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), among others.

The meeting is expected to set the tone for the 2024/2025 admission exercise into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions..

The statement noted that; “During the exercise, the Registrar will present reports on the just-concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the ongoing Direct Entry (DE) applications while also analysing key performance indicators that could shape the policy directions of the government.

“Also, the meeting would apprise stakeholders of the salient issues that cropped up in the course of the previous year’s admission exercise. In addition, the policy meeting would look at the performance of candidates in the current year’s UTME in order to determine the year’s minimum admissible score.

“It would be recalled that stakeholders had in the previous year agreed on the minimum admission requirement for admission into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

“Furthermore, the meeting would determine the year’s admission requirements while kick-starting the admission process for the current year; discuss unresolved issues emanating from the previous academic year; and, at the same time, appraise the compliance of stakeholders with extant advisories and suggest further amendments where necessary.”