The industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has taken too long to be settled with the Nigeria’s federal government.
In the interest of students, President Muhammadu Buhari has begged the ASUU to call off the ongoing strike.
The President made the appeal on Thursday at the 19th National Productivity Day, which included the presentation of the National Productivity Order of Merit Award (NPOM) to 48 eminent Nigerians and organizations from the public and private sectors for their high productivity, hard work, and excellence.
In his speech, Buhari also asked students in public tertiary institutions to be patient as he urged ASUU to address the plight of students.
He said the government had continued to work within the constraints of available resources to address niggling concerns in the nation’s university system.
In a statement released by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, the President recalled that he had previously directed the Chief of Staff, Hon. Ministers of Labour and Employment, Education, Finance, Budget, and National Planning to immediately bring all parties to the negotiating table to critically examine the grey areas in ASUU and other university-based labor unions’ demands.
Buhari said that the Federal Government would continue to do all necessary to improve the country’s educational system, remarking on the theme of this year’s celebration, “Achieving Higher Productivity through Improved Education System.”
He stated that his administration understood that a country’s destiny was determined by the quality of its educational system.
“As a result, if we want to convert Nigeria into a competitive, powerful, dynamic, productive, and sustainable economy, we must prioritize upgrading our educational system.”
The President stated that boosting our economic performance and overall productivity would be difficult without upgrading our educational system.
“Government highlights the emergency situation in our educational system, with specific reference to the scarcity of competent and dedicated teachers to improve the quality of teaching and learning at all levels of our educational system,” he compiles.
