FG, ASUU begin talks today

Representatives of the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities are due today to begin negotiations aimed at ending lecturers' strike that disrupted academic activities at universities across the country.ASUU leaders declared an indefinite strike starting on Monday because of what they called un-implemented agreements reached with the government two years ago.Education Minister Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i said yesterday in Abuja that a meeting between government and ASUU has been scheduled for today to be chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Anyim Pius Anyim. She said ASUU representatives are expected to attend.Speaking to journalists after the opening of a meeting on literacy for development, the minister appealed to the union to suspend the strike and return to the negotiation table because innocent students were made to suffer for the strike.'Like I pleaded yesterday, government is again pleading through the minister. I am pleading with my brothers and sisters of ASUU as colleagues to understand the situation; I am still pleading that ASUU suspends the strike and return to the negotiation table,' she said.Prof. Rufai said government was not insincere as alleged in the handling of the 2009 agreement with ASUU as it had nothing to benefit from failing to meet its obligations.ASUU's grouse is the non-implementation of an agreement that provided for improved funding of universities, Federal financial assistance for universities owned by state governments, payment of earned allowances including supervision of industrial attachment and teaching practices, increment of retirement age for professors from 65 to 70 and increased salaries for lecturers.ASUU did not say specifically yesterday whether they would attend the meeting with the SGF today.Dr. Abu Malam, the North-central coordinator for ASUU, told Daily Trust by telephone yesterday that the union had received a letter of invitation for a meeting to be held today from Anyim, but refused to state categorically if they would honour the invitation.When asked if ASUU would listen to appeals by the government to call off the strike, Malam said the union is equally appealing for the full implementation of the agreement and nothing less than that would convince it to end the strike.At the time of declaring the strike, ASUU had said it would not listen to any pleas or engage in any negotiation with government, insisting that only a full implementation of the pending agreements would stop the strike.Meanwhile, the National Union of Nigerian Students (NANS) yesterday threatened to mobilise students to occupy the Federal Ministry of Education headquarters in Abuja within seven days if the matter is not resolved.
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