Varsities On Strike   

UMUAHIA: Since Thursday 22 July, academic activities have been paralysed in all state universities in the South-East zone which comprises Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states. The zonal chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, embarked on this action with the approval of the National Executive Council of the union, to press home their demand for the implementation of the July 2009 agreement between the federal government and ASUU, which was endorsed in October after ASUU went on a nationwide strike.

• Dr. George Nwabuko Chima, Chairman, ASUU Abia State University.

Out of the six geo-political zones in the country, the state governments of five are said to have implemented the agreement, which provides for enhanced salary as well as improved funding and welfare package for effective operation of all universities.

This includes money to cover internal supervision and external invigilation, supervision of undergraduates, masters and doctorate students, excess workload, age increment from 65 to 70 years for the professorial cadre, laboratory, library and other infrastructural development fund.

Dr. George Nwabuko Chima, Chairman of ASUU in Abia State University, ABSU, told this magazine that none of the governors of the eastern states had reacted, alleging that governments in the zone had misplaced priorities.

Outside non-implementation of the agreement, the monthly subvention of ABSU has been in arrears since December 2009, even after it was reduced from N145m to N100m. Dr. Chima revealed that all payments so far made and the infrastructural development projects in the institution were sourced and funded through internally-generated revenue and the Education Trust Fund, ETF.

The implication is that the institution has hiked its tuition fees for first degree, masters and doctorate programmes so that it can meet its financial challenges. Salaries are also being owed, while infrastructural development, libraries, laboratories and requisite equipment for teaching and learning are in a sorry state.

Professor Austin Chukwu of Ebonyi State University said if this new agreement was not implemented, lecturers would move from the state universities in the zone to universities in other geo-political zones across the country.

Last week, the South-East governors, at a meeting in Enugu chaired by Peter Obi of Anambra State, asked the striking lecturers to call off their action and negotiate separately with their respective state governments.

But the lecturers said they could not call off the strike and there was nothing to re-negotiate separately. They said their only unwavering demand was for the governments of the zone to do what their counterparts nationwide had done. Statistically, the lecturers believe that the South-East zone is not the poorest in the country. “How could you believe there is no money when all of them are running individual security votes of over N650m?” one of the striking lecturers said.

– Reported by George Opara.