At least three universities which had hitherto joined the 5 months old strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has heeded to the directives given to lecturers to resume work or face dismissal. These are the Adekunle Ajasin University, Enugu State University of Science and University of Jos.
At Ondo state-owned Adekunle AjasinUniversity, Akungba Akoko (AAUA) lectures resumed, yesterday, but few lecturers and students were seen in the lecture theaters. Lectures were held in the Department of History and the Faculty of Education as time table for the session has been released by the university authority. The university, in a reminder, by the Registrar, Mr. Bamidele Olotu confirmed the resumption of lectures. Olotu said in a statement that: “In line with an earlier circular to all students on resumption for the second semester 2012/2013 academic session, all students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko in particular, their parents and the public in general are hereby informed that commencement of lectures on Monday, December 2, 2013, remains sacrosanct as announced. It added that “registration had indeed commenced in accordance with the university approved academic calendar.”
Cross section of stakeholders at a meeting to review the ongoing strike by ASUU held at the Trenchard Hall of the University of Ibadan on Monday. Photo by Dare Fasube
Some of the academic staff who spoke with the Information Unit of the university but would not want their names in print confirmed that they had resumed for work and that they attended the faculty board meetings held on Monday and Tuesday last week. Some of the students who also spoke said they were happy about the development. They urged ASUU to cooperate with the Management and expressed optimism that lectures would begin in full swing as announced.
Students and lecturers of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) have also returned to school following a directive by the school authorities. The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, correspondent who monitored the situation at the Enugu and Agbani campuses of the university reports that the students were in their various departments exchanging pleasantries and checking the notice boards.
At the faculties of engineering and management sciences in the Enugu campus, students in their numbers were copying the second semester examination timetables pasted on the notice boards.
The lecturers, on the other hand, held a meeting with the governing council of the university at the Agbani campus on the resumption of work.
Addressing the lecturers, chairman of the council, Chief Chilo Offiah, appealed to them to sheathe their swords and return to classes in the interest of the students. Offiah thanked the lecturers for attending the meeting and assured them that the council would do all it could to ensure the improvement of their welfare.
The executive members of the ESUT branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which called the strike, did not attend the meeting.
It was however a different story at the Enugu campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka as only a few students and lecturers were on campus. NAN reports that the few lecturers were in their various offices discussing or reading while the non-academic staff members were busy working. Some of the lecturers who spoke on conditions of anonymity said they were waiting for directives from both the school authorities and the ASUU branch.
“We heard on the radio that we should resume classes but we have not received any circular to that effect,” some of them said. Only the medical students who did not join the strike were fully on campus.
Checks at the University of Jos showed that the authorities have directed lecturers to resume work immediately. The university’s registrar, Jilli Dandam, issued a statement, which reads in part: “The Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council on behalf of the Governing Council has directed that all academic staff of the University of Jos should return to their various departments, units and commence work immediately. Every head of department should publish lecture time-table for all academic programmes immediately.”
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