Jonathan told ASUU to Allow reason to prevail, i wonder what is on our number one candidate in Nigeria is thinking. Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan, for the second time in one week, yesterday appealed to the striking university teachers to allow reason to prevail by calling off their four-month-old strike, saying that the government had recently released the sum of N130 billion to the ivory towers for infrastructure development and payment of earned allowances to staff. Jonathan spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State, during the 29th convocation ceremony of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN). He disclosed that the government had increased the budget for education progressively from N234.8 billion in 2010 to N426.5 billion in 2013 with N55.74 billion allocated to the university sub-sector alone. Jonathan, who was represented on the occasion by the supervising minister for education, Chief Nyesom Wike, urged ASUU members to emulate the UNILORIN branch which has maintained uninterrupted academic calendar in the last 13 years. Jonathan challenged UNILORIN lecturers to sustain the norm of academic stability, and “resolve not to be dragged into avoidable strike actions which are clearly detrimental to the growth and development of our educational system”. “We have it on record that this positive step which has been the hallmark of this institution has brought notable achievements to the university in all spheres of its endeavour,” Jonathan added. “Our universities must be agents of change. The situation whereby a large number of the graduates produced by our universities lack the relevant skills due to poor training and are therefore unemployable is intolerable. University teachers must re-orient themselves and avoid distractions at work occasioned by unnecessary strikes which remain the bane of our educational system with its attendant consequences. “It is on this premise that I wish to once again call on the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to allow reason to prevail by immediately calling off their ongoing strike action in the interest of the nation and our children while government systematically continues to address the myriad of challenges facing our university system. I call on the university teachers to work with the government to make our universities centres of excellence”. Funding of universities could not be shouldered only by government, Jonathan said, urging all stakeholders to support the government. The university graduated a total of 6, 851 first degree and 969 higher degree students with 42 of the graduates bagging First Class Honours. The vice-chancellor, Professor Abdul Ganiyu Ambali, who presented the institution’s annual report to Jonathan, noted that the university had become the prime choice of admission seekers due to its academic stability.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 10:10:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015