Stakeholders in the education sector in Bauchi State have expressed joy over the suspension of the eight-month-old strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The stakeholders including students, parents, and educationists who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Friday, described the action as a “welcome development”.
The lecturers went on strike on Feb. 14, 2022, to press home their demands.
These include the implementation of agreements reached with the Federal Government on issues such as funding for the revitalization of public universities and Earned Academic Allowances.
Others are the adoption of University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) as an alternative payment platform in the university system and renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, among others.
After a series of failed negotiations, between the parties, the federal government referred the matter to the National Industrial Court asking it to order the lecturers to call off the strike.
The court on Sept. 21, ordered the union to end the strike. Subsequently, the union challenged the judgment at the Appeal Court.
However, the Appeal Court also ruled in favour of the government asking ASUU to resume work.
ASUU National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, who announced the development in a statement, said the action was sequel to the intervention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the appeals made by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Olubunmi Adetoye, a student of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, said he was elated by the development.
“I am happy that the strike is over. We don’t expect any other thing that will disrupt academic activities or prolong our stay in schools.
“From the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 to the first ASUU strike during the period and with this recent one, we lost two academic sessions consecutively.
“We thank God that we are back in school to pick up the pieces and move on,” he said.
He said many students who were 29 years of age before the strike had turned 30 and are exempted from participation in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
Corroborating the earlier opinion, Alhassan Adam, Coordinator, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), North-East Zone, said the development would enable the students to return to school to resume normal academic activities.
“This is what we are agitating for. We appreciate the kind gesture of our lecturers for giving the federal government window to reconcile,” he said.
Adam, however, urged the students to pay more attention to their studies as they returned to their various institutions.
“I know, we may have a lot of challenges, but let us look for something that would sustain us throughout the semester,” he said.
Also, Ismael Raji, a parent, said the suspension of the strike was a welcome development because his children had been home for so long.
He said the development was a relief to most parents.
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