ASUU: Nigerian govt gets mass protest threat

The Save Public Education Campaign has threatened to lead a mass protest over the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.

The Convener, Vivian Bello told reporters on Monday that the plight of Nigerian students was worrisome.

Noting that education is non-negotiable, she said the insecurity in Nigeria “is traceable to the failure of the education sector”.

Bello decried “the near-total collapse of tertiary education” in the country.

She listed poor welfare, university autonomy and lack of adequate funding for universities as some of the issues.

Bello noted that ASUU has been on strike for over 725 days since the beginning of the Buhari administration.

“This amounts to an entire two and half years’ loss in the educational lives of innocent Nigerian children/students in public universities.

“The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, ASUP and COEASU are all also currently on strike on similar issues as ASUU.”

Bello warned that an “all-round collapse of tertiary education” is imminent if the situation is not fixed urgently.

The group charged the government to devote more attention and resources needed to tackle the industrial action.

The co-convener, Dimeji Macaulay said they were waiting for the outcome of the ASUU meeting with the government before declaring a 14-day ultimatum.

The consistency of strikes has caused students to engage in criminal activities, Macaulay added.