ASUU strike: FG assures on speedy resolution
The Federal Government has admitted that it is worried about the distortion in school calender hence has assured on speedy resolution to bring to an end the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) following the “serious negotiations” that has been ongoing with the aggrieved lecturers.
It has also said it was worried about the fall out of the continued strike leading to a lot of young people idling away, hence is doing all with its power to stop the incessant strike.
Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, stated the resolve of government at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, urging parents and affected students to bear with government and show more understanding as efforts are being made to resolve the contending issues very soon.
Maku said federal government had indeed been worried since the onset of the strike, particularly as there are always social costs incurred by disruption of academic calendar.
“The federal government has been far more worried than you think concerning the strike in tertiary institutions, because of the disruption of the school calendar and so government is concerned and very worried and since the onset of the strike government has been negotiating with ASUU through the Ministry of Labour and Productivity and the Ministry of Education.
“As at today we know that this negotiations are going on and it is our expectation that this strike will not get more protracted and that an understanding will be reached soon enough to enable our students return back to school. Government is very worried and concerned every time the school calendar is disrupted, it has its cost to the nation, particularly the idle time our children spend at home can lead to alot of social difficulties.
“We don’t want school calendars to be disrupted and a lot of series of discussions have been going on and we believe we should record some progress soon enough for these schools to open and the Minister of Labour and education will be giving quarter briefing on the progress of these negotiation and I know that it has never cease.
“So we are appealing to our people particularly parents and children of this nation to bear with us, to show more understanding and we pray that this type of strike will not re-occur, because the public school system suffers a lot of damage with the perenal strikes. The universities have been relatively stable since the advent of this Administration. The outraged strikes that we inherited we have tried to resolve them, and if you notice in the last two years there has not been a lot of strikes until this unfortunate one and I believe we will overcome it and in the end both parties will appreciate the need to keep the school calender stable for the progress of our country. So government is working hard to ensure we reach an agreement to resolve this problem so that or schools can re-open”.