The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, and other stakeholders have embarked on a meeting with some of the Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, to end the six-month-old strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Prof. Rasheed said the commission is poised to promote dialogue and constructive engagement with critical stakeholders, as it supervises the crisis-free university system.
He stated this at the opening session of a five-day 2022 management retreat with Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities organised by the Commission in Abuja on Monday.
Rasheed said the retreat must identify and support ongoing efforts by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, the Federal Ministry of Education, and other stakeholders in ensuring stability and putting an end to the ongoing strike.
“Our universities have been confronted with uncertainties due to the unfortunate strike, ASUU strike is in the six months and as vice-chancellors, we know the negative consequences of the prolonged closure of universities, we know what it means in terms of its effect on the economy of a nation, in terms of our institutional reputation and the future of our youths,” he said.
While noting that university education is fundamental to success and a nation’s economy, nations explore teaching, research and community development for aspiration of goals, he called on the vice-chancellors to ensure that universities fulfil their primary roles and their mandates.
Rasheed, however, sympathized with the vice-chancellors, saying, “We know how difficult the task of being a VC is, nobody is happy with the VC of a university, students are not happy that the VC cannot provide electricity, lecturers are also not happy because their pockets are low, even the communities as well, the vice-chancellors face serious challenges and roadblocks to achieve the success of their mandates.”.
In his remark, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu represented by the Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Nanah Opiah, said that part of the challenges created by COVID 19 was a paucity of funds hence it added to the challenges of the ivory towers in terms of funding.
The Minister, however, called on the vice-chancellors to join hands with the federal government in repositioning the Nigerian University System.
