The Federal Government has assured that it will not allow public universities to shut down again over labour disagreements, saying it is taking proactive steps to prevent another strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, stated this while briefing State House correspondents on Tuesday, noting that President Bola Tinubu has given clear instructions to keep students in school and sustain reforms in the tertiary education system.
“The President has mandated that there must be no more ASUU strikes. We are doing everything possible to ensure students remain in school,” Alausa said.
He described the recent six-day strike by the union as unnecessary, insisting that government had met most of ASUU’s demands and had resumed negotiations to resolve outstanding issues.
Alausa added that the government is committed to strengthening accountability and transparency across universities, stressing that the sector is almost entirely funded by the federal purse.
“Our tertiary institutions receive almost 100% of their funding from the Federal Government. There must therefore be proper oversight. Without accurate data, you are operating blindly,” he said.
The minister emphasized that discussions with ASUU are ongoing and expressed confidence that the issues would be resolved peacefully to ensure uninterrupted learning across public universities.
Leave a Reply