Category: Education

Following the decision of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend the national strike embarked on since February 14, 2022, some Nigerian institutions have fixed their resumption date.

Naija News earlier reported that ASUU on Friday called off its eight-month-old strike.

The industrial action was put to an end after the National Executive Council of ASUU held an emergency meeting in Abuja.

In this article, Naija News highlights various Nigerian Universities and their resumption dates according to press statements issued by the institutions.

1. Nnamdi Azikiwe University: The registrar of the institution, Philomena Okoye, disclosed that students are expected to resume academic activities with immediate effect from Monday, October 17, 2022.

2. TAI Solarin University Of Education, Ijagun: The institution in a statement signed by the Principal Assistant Registrar, Adesanya A. fixed Friday, October 14, 2022, as resumption.

3. Federal University of Petroleum Effurun: All students are expected to resume academic activities with effect from Monday, October 17, 2022,

4. Federal University Lafia: The institution released an action plan to carry out sanitation and fumigation of campuses and repairs of some damaged facilities while the resumption of students for the second semester is scheduled for Sunday, October 30, 2022.

5. University of Port Harcourt: The registrar has announced that academic activities will commence on October 16, 2022, and 24 for the examination of all Year one B students.

6. Obafemi Awolowo University holds a senate meeting on Tuesday, October 18, 2022.

This article was originally published on Naija News

The Founder of Household of God Church, Rev Chris Okotie, has warned Nigerians not to jubilate over the suspension of the eight months old strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), instead a lasting solution to the frequent strike should be sought.

The is against the backdrop that the academic union had earlier on Friday, called off the eight months old strike conditionally after their overnight meeting saying that their needs have not been fully met.

According to him, even though he was glad about the suspension of the strike action, he didn’t envisage any lasting solution to the incessant labour disputes, adding that professional unions should be given legislative responsibilities as contained in his interim government proposition.

Naija News reports that the former Presidential aspirant in a statement by his Media Adviser, Ladi Ayodeji said, until professional bodies by virtue of their competence begin to make laws that govern their area of specialisation, there won’t be an end to the issues of strike action.

Okotie explained that, it will mean ASUU making laws for the education sector, and other associations like the medical does same with the health sector, only then can economic stability be achieved.

“Labour unrest will persist like other perennial crises in the polity unless Aboriginal Democracy is put in place,” he said.

He furthered that “the challenges we have now is that a group of politicians congregate as legislature to be making laws in specialised areas they know little about. That’s the truth behind labour disputes in the country.”

Okotie noted that in the midst of what seems to look like peace at last in the country’s educational sector, Nigerians shouldn’t be surprised that ASUU will still start another round of strike  very soon, just like other associations like the doctors, in the Nigerian Labour Congress.

“The musical chairs of strikes and negotiations would continue to destabilise our economy until Aboriginal Democracy is accepted as the new political order in Nigeria,” he added.

This article was originally published on Naija News

The 2023 Times Higher Education World University Rankings released on Wednesday has ranked the University of Lagos(UNILAG) first among Nigerian universities and 401-500th out of over 1,799 institutions globally.

UNILAG is sharing the first spot with the University of Ibadan, which is also ranked 401-500th in the world.

Naija News stated that according to data published on the Times Higher Education website, the rankings were conducted based on 13 calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

In 2020, UNILAG ranked 801-1000 in the world, 601-800 in 2021, and 501-600 in 2022 rankings.

The latest rankings revealed a steady rise in the institution’s growth from 2020 to date.

A statement published on the university’s website says, “The University of Lagos has indeed come a long way from the rankings of previous years steadily rising from 2020 till date.

UNILAG took a leap from the range of 801–1000 in 2020 to a higher range of 601–800 in 2021, 501–600 in 2022 and now, the 401–500 range in 2023. The University is however not relenting in hard work and dedication as the aim is to be ranked among the top 10 universities across the globe.”

The statement furthered that this year, the University (UNILAG) is sharing the first spot in Nigeria with the University of Ibadan(UI) while Covenant University comes next in the 601–800 range.

Outside Nigeria, it said UNILAG is sharing the 401–500 range with the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, US, Aston University, UK, University of Bayreuth, Germany, Brunel University, London, UK, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, US, among others.

Other universities captured in the rankings in Nigeria are Bayero University, Kano, and the Federal University of Technology, Akure both of which share the 1001-1200th position in the 2023 World University Rankings.

This article was originally published on Naija News

Some Nigerian students under the aegis of the National Association of University Students (NAUS) South West have described the registration of new academic unions; the Congress of Nigerian University Academics(CONUA) and the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) by the Federal Government as a great threat to the university system.

According to them, CONUA and NAMDA would pose a greater threat to universities’ progress, because the two associations do not cover up to one-third of the federal institutions in Nigeria.

It would be recalled that Naija News reported last week that the Federal Government through the  Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, presented certificates of registration to CONUA and NAMDA.

Naija News understands that in a statement issued by the NAUS Southwest Vice-President, Adesoji Oladimeji, he said the Federal Government’s move to ignore the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) by presenting the certificate of registration to other rival academic unions was a mere distraction to use division and conquer method.

The decision, he described as not only a joke but also the abuse of office, and also not having the interest of the  Nigerian Students at heart.

In a Punch Newspaper report, a cross-section of students laid their minds about their stand on CONUA and NAMDA.

A 200-level student of History at the University of Ibadan, Tijani Abdulkabeer, was reported to have said, “CONUA can’t solve the issue of the ongoing industrial actions because they are just a faction of the academics and do not occupy up to one-third of the federal institutions in Nigeria and will also have the same issues that ASUU is currently facing now in the near future.”

Another  500-level student of Metallurgical and Material Engineering, University of Lagos, Toluwani Sopeju, said, ‘‘A new union is only possible if the demands of ASUU is met because the other unions can’t also function well without being paid unless the new unions have decided to work without being paid.’’

A graduate of International Relations from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Damilola Adebowale, who was unable to go for his NYSC as a result of the ongoing strike, said freedom of association was a human right. However, added that the new union would have negative effects on students.

He said, ‘‘CONUA has always been in OAU and yet the school is on strike. The association has a lot of work to do to build their relevance and it is going to take years, not anytime soon.’’

Remember that Naija News reported earlier that the president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), prof. Emmanuel Osodeke said the union can call off its industrial action in a few days.

Naija News reports that ASUU embarked on strike on February 14, 2022, to press home an improved academic environment and welfare of members, funding of the Revitalisation of Public Universities, Earned Academic Allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS), and promotion arrears.

Speaking during a meeting with the leadership of the House of Representatives in Abuja on Monday, ASUU President said the strike would come to an end soon.

While commending President Muhammadu Buhari, Osodeke stated that strikes by the union should not be allowed to linger.

This article was originally published on Naija News

The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Ilorin, Kwara State has warned admission seekers to be wary of scammers and disregard viral reports outlining the schedule for school resumption and admission processes.

Naija News understands that the varsity gave the clarification following reports making the round that the school management declared October 20th 2022 for the resumption of old students at the campus.

“This statement does not originate from the university management,” the school authorities said in a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday.

Unilorin described the viral reports as fake news, noting that it was still expecting a categorical statement of strike call-off from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) before any decision of an official resumption date could be arrived at.

The institution also refuted another report on the sale of the 2022/2023 Post-UTME Screening Form to applicants.

The statement released by the Director of Corporate Affairs of the university, Kunle Akogun, reiterated that Unilorin was yet to take any personal decision on the ongoing ASUU strike.

“This is to inform all admission applicants to the University of Ilorin that the institution is yet to take any decision on the 2022/2023 Post-UTME screening.

“They should, therefore, disregard a message currently flying around online platforms to the effect that the University has started the process for the sale of Post-UTME screening registration forms.

“This is the handiwork of scammers and admission seekers should disregard it,” Vanguard quoted Akogun as saying in the statement.

ASUU To Vote In All Branches Today And Tomorrow

Branches of the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) will today commence traditional voting and end tomorrow (Wednesday) to decide the fate of the current eight-month-old strike.

Naija News reports that the result of the various branches will be transmitted to the National Executive Council (NEC) for final decision.

A Punch Newspaper report noted that a highly-placed source within the NEC who disclosed the voting plans said “we got the directive after the meeting with the speaker yesterday (Monday). The intervention was timely. Branches will vote between today and tomorrow after which the decisions will be convened to the NEC.”

This follows the union’s meeting with the speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, who called several meetings between the academic union and the side of Federal Government.

ASUU’s lead counsel Femi Falana (SAN) was reported to have also disclosed that the strike would be over in a few days.

This article was originally published on Naija News

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria( CBN), has revealed that Nigerians spent more than $609.5 million on foreign academic institutions in eight months.

The Apex bank said that this amount was spent without any significant reciprocity in form of inflows from foreign sources to the local educational sector.

Naija News understands that this development has followed the grounded activities in Nigerian universities due to the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) since February this year.

Tertiary education in the country has over the years been marred by a series of industrial actions by various academic unions owing to welfare issues.

Naija News gathered that the figure is contained in the data obtained from the CBN, calculated based on the information provided on the amount spent on educational services under the sectoral utilisation for transactions valid for foreign exchange.

Giving a month-by-month breakdown of this amount, the CBN said In January 2022, a total of $60,202,730.84 was spent on foreign education, while noting that $69.9m was spent in February 2022.

The Apex bank furthered that in March 2022, there was a significant increase as the bank stated that $87.26 million was spent, and in April, there was a little reduction as a total of $78.62 million was recorded by the apex bank.

The bank said the figure for May 2022 stood at $82.70 million, and in June 2022, the apex bank released $84.90 million, while a total of $61.99 million was released in July 2022.

In the month of August 2022, a slight increase was recorded with a total of $84.01 million released.

Naija News reports that these figures are on the rise because Nigerians won’t stop trooping out in pursuit of foreign academic qualifications.

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO) noted that about 76,338 Nigerians were studying abroad as of 2018, making it the highest from an African country.

Also very recently, data obtained from the home office of the United Kingdom(UK) shows that the number of study visas released to Nigerians increased by 222.8 %, with 65,929 issued as of June 2022, as against 20,427 in the same period in 2021.

Speaking to the issues, Programme Director of Reform Education Nigeria, Ayodamola Oluwatoyin, explained that most of the policies by the government itself are anti-youth and that the government has made the economy difficult for youths to thrive, adding that people are still going to leave before the end of the year.

Oluwatosin who described the situation as a brain drain said the country hasn’t realised, and it is very bad.

“The truth is that most people see ‘japa’ as a means of survival. People just want to leave the country and that is fine. The ASUU strike is close to eight months now, ” he added.

However, the dollar hit N735 in the parallel market last week as political campaign activities began in the country.

Naija News learnt that Bureau De Change operators in Lagos and Abuja, said dollar price had increased from N718 – N720 to N728-N735 in the last week.

Analysts said the naira had weakened in the parallel market due to increased speculations, falling external reserves, and low foreign exchange inflows.

Speaking on major factors responsible for the rate hikes in the dollar to naira, the Vice President of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Gabriel Idahosa, was reported to have said that the immediate cause of dollar rate increment was the new Monetary Policy Rate of the CBN.

The immediate cause of the dollar price hike he said is the increase in the Monetary Policy Rate from 13 per cent to 15.5 per cent announced by the Central Bank.

According to Idahosa, the commencement of elections also meant that a lot of funds had started pouring into campaign-related activities and that beneficiaries of these spending will be converting naira funds received to dollars as fast as possible.

This article was originally published on Naija News

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, in a bid to weaken the influence of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has directed CONUA and NAMDA to resume.

Naija News earlier reported that the FG okayed the registration of two varsity unions, the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), which was split from the ASUU as a result of numerous letters that former ASUU members had sent to the Ministry of Labour and Employment complaining of mistreatment and rejecting the organization’s operating philosophy.

The minister made a point of saying that the registration of new unions is a step taken to make sure that no union will undermine university education in Nigeria. He stated that the acts of ASUU do not support the development of tertiary education in the nation.

He said: “Trade Union Act CAP. T14, Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 gives the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment powers to regroup an existing Trade Union of Worker or Employees.”

“In the view of the above, I Senator Chris Ngige, in the exercise of the powers conferred on me as the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, do hereby approve the registration of CONUA and NAMDA,” the minister added.

The minister added that the unions will be invited to all meetings and events involving university lecturers and that they now have the same rights as ASUU.

“ASUU will no longer be the only voice that speaks for Nigerian lecturers,” he continued, “as there are now three unions in the country’s tertiary education system. ASUU is still alive and will continue to have access to its legal rights,” he insisted, despite the fact that the two unions submitted registration applications in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

“These associations will exist side by side with ASUU in the Nigerian universities in the spirit and tenets of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) core convention. They are accordingly entitled to all rights and privileges accruing to such academic association/organization including but not limited to receiving check-off dues of their members,” said the minister.

This article was originally published on Naija News