The Federal Government of Nigeria has declared that the ongoing strike action by the Academic Staff Uniom of Universities (ASUU) will not in anyway hinder the reopening of tertiary institutions in the country.
This was conveyed in a statement by the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba during the daily brief by the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 on Thursday.
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Recall ASUU has been on strike since March, 2020 over lingering issues including an attempt to force the lecturers to enrol on the Federal Government Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform.
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The Minister noted that the PTF would release directive on when the universities would be reopened, saying he was also in consultation with proprietors of private universities in the country who have continued to mount pressure on the government to reopen the education space.
He noted that owners of private universities have argued that since worship centres and markets have reopened, private universities should be reopened if the public institutions were not ready.
He said the over 62,000 lecturers with more than 10,000 professors, are patriotic Nigerians who have also been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that they would see reasons to return to classrooms when the institutions are eventually reopened.
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