Umunze: Lecturers begin three weeks warning strike, urge parents to withdraw students
Lecturers of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze in Anambra State have commenced a three weeks warning strike over reluctance by management to meet their payment needs.
Chairman of the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) in Federal College of Education, Umunze chapter, Dr Churchill Okonkwo disclosed this to journalists on Friday.
Okonkwo said the strike commenced on Tuesday after an extensive meeting of members of the union, who expressed displeasure over-indebtedness to them by the management.
“We are here to notify you that lecturers of Federal College of Education, Umunze have commenced a three weeks warning strike.
“We believe we want to let the public know, especially parents of our students who may want to believe that their children were in school undergoing academic activities to know that no academic activity is going on in the college now.
“The management of the college has been trying to deny the strike, but truth is that the students are simply staying idle in school, and we believe it is a bit harmful to leave students on campus to stay idle without any activity,” Okonkwo said.
Speaking on why the lecturers went on strike, Okonkwo said there had been outstanding issues involving payment that the management of the college has been unable to meet.
“Mobilization of academic staff who go for supervision for teaching practice that is the daily BTA for their mobilisation has not been paid since 2017.
“There is also the TETFUND intervention in teaching practice, which helps to augment whatever the college gives for teaching practice supervision, and in Umunze it has not been accessed since 2016.
“We have been patient for too long, yet this money doesn’t get paid every year. We have even sent a peace committee made up of former acting provosts to meet the provost of the college, Dr Tessy Okoye, but she has refused to budge.
“For seven years now we have not been paid that mobilization, yet the provost has remained adamant. That is why we decided to go on strike.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Sam Otti, the Public Relations Officer of the college, in a notice, insisted that there was no strike while also advising students of their upcoming exams.
Okonkwo, however, confirmed that the management is coercing some lecturers of the college to supervise the examinations.
