The executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, has said that the relevant authorities have failed to address the underlying factors of ongoing industrial action by academic and non-academic staff in Nigerian universities.
However, he said that embarking on incessant strikes by workers may not be the best option to solve the challenges in universities and in the country’s education sector as a whole.
Mr. Echono, a former permanent secretary at the federal Ministry of Education, had this to say in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES.
He said that Nigeria needs to “raise a collective awareness of the need to invest in education, prioritize it and prepare the youth population by expanding opportunities for them”.
He added that for a resource-constrained environment like Nigeria, alternatives to striking should be explored and that “the government, for its part, needs to demonstrate greater commitment to meeting its obligations.”
According to Echono, the strikes not only affect students, but also have a long-term impact on the reputation of Nigerian institutions.
“It affects the ranking of our institutions because nobody wants to come from other countries to school here when they are not sure about the length of the programs,” he said, adding that parents are increasingly sending their children to school abroad. .
worker’s strike
Both academic and non-academic staff unions at many Nigerian universities have been on strike for more than four months, paralyzing activities on campus.
The Academic Staff of Universities Union (ASUU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have demanded, among other things, better funding for public tertiary institutions of the nation and better welfare for its members
ALSO READ: As Nigerian govt promises end to ASUU strike, SSANU, NASU announce extension
While the government released N34 billion for the payment of consequential minimum wage adjustments from 2019, ASUU has maintained that until its main demands are met, industrial action would continue.
Both NASU and SSANU have announced the extension of their strike for an additional two months, insisting that until all issues of concern are addressed, they will not resume.
TETFund intervention
Although negotiations with ASUU are not part of TETFUND’s mandate, Echono said the agency is working on the sidelines to address some of the issues that caused the strike.
“It is not within our mandate to negotiate with the unions but I can tell you that based on my background I have also been called to be part of the negotiating team,” he said.
Despite the disruption caused by the strike, Echono insists that ASUU is a patriotic organization, although he described its leaders as passionate friends of Nigeria.
He added that although they may disagree on certain methodologies, they share the same vision and goal which is ultimately to improve the education sector in Nigeria.
TETFUND will focus more on funding research and development, Echono told PREMIUM TIMES.
“Over the last few years, there has been a significant improvement in the allocation of funds for research and development by TETFUND and we intend to expand and grow this in the coming years by creating partnerships with various research institutes around the world. the world,” he said. .
Chiamaka Okafor is a reporter for Premium Times in collaboration with report to the worldthat unites local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on hidden topics around the world.