The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) on Wednesday issued a 21 days ultimatum for the government to address what they described as prevailing rapid and awful conditions of both staff infrastructure in public colleges of education in Nigeria.
National president of the union comrade Nuhu Ogirima said the union can no longer cope with the neglect of the colleges of Education sub-sector by the government.
He said both Federal and state governments treat the teachers’ education industry as less important, thereby neglecting the sector without attention.
“The Expanded National Executive Council (ENEC) at its meeting of 8th July, is, therefore, forced to challenge the government to shut the Teacher Education Industry since the quality of infrastructure, welfare, and service delivery takes no preference in the scheme of governance at all levels.
“Alternatively, the ENEC wishes that you take notice hereby that should the government refuse to redress all the issues in contention within 21 days the Union would have no other option than to declare a nation-wide industrial action”.
According to him, the union in 2019 wrote to President Buhari to intervene on the neglect of the sector, adding that to date the challenges persist unattended to.
The issues in contention, Comrade Ogirima said are double standard deployed by Federal Ministry of Education ( FME) and Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment ( FML&E) against the COE, relative to other tertiary institutions, refusal to migrate lower cadre, non- remittance of check-off dues deducted at source from the promotion arrears paid to some of COEASU members from January to November 2018.
Others are the imposition of IPPIS on the COE system which bedeviled the payment of emoluments of staff with anomalies, infractions, and deprivations. Third party-deductions are not being affected in most colleges, A number of our members on Sabbatical and Study Leaves have not been included on pay-roll, and worst of all check-off dues have been withheld, unremitted to the Union since February 2020, ostensibly to stifle the Union of funds and cripple her activities”.
Comrade Ogirima said the expanded National Executive Council (ENEC) of the union has challenged the government to shut the Teacher Education Industry since the quality of infrastructure, welfare, and service delivery takes no preference in the scheme of governance at all levels.
