Students of colleges of education in the country have issued a 14-Day ultimatum to the federal government to resolve with striking Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU, on their demands or risk nationwide mass protest.
The students under the auspices of the National Association of Nigeria Colleges of Education Students, NANCES, lamented that students have been at home since June 14 2022, when the lecturers embarked on nationwide strike owing to the failure of the government to heed to their demands.
National President of NANCES, Comrade Aminu Habibu, at a press conference in Abuja describe the continued industrial actions by the College of Education Academic Staff Union as an organized crime against students’ career and educational pursuits.
He noted that the lingering COEASU strike has been deviling and disrupting students’ quest and thirst for knowledge, hence the decision to embark on a mass protest tagged #BringUsbacktoourcampuses with economy shutdown as the major target.
Habibu said the government has failed to prioritize the colleges of education sector, hence the failure to deploy necessary fund for complete over hauling of colleges of education sector and total revitalization of teachers education in Nigeria, through a meaningful budgetary allocation to the sector in line with the importance of teachers education to the development of Nigeria as a nation.
According to him, “NANCES leadership has emphatically mourn and sorrowfully shared the grievance with our students who are idle doing nothing loosing time, material and resources while both Government and COEASU lose nothing at the end of every strike actions, both salaries, promotions and other remuneration among others.
“But, students are the greatest losers as their careers and delayed, years stay on Campus extended, House Rent/Hostel Fee Incurred, Federal/State Job age requirement exceeded among other negative effects and impacts on general life plan of our innocent Nigerian colleges of education students.
“Our Colleges of Education are currently under key and lock because of the ongoing strike by our lecturers as most of our colleges are under developed, and need to be revitalised, so as to promote and enhance the production of quality and qualified teachers for the consumption of our basic and secondary education.
“And for that, we demand that federal government should declare state of emergency on our Colleges and pump more funds to get standard building that will be conducive for teaching and learning.
“The COEASU are the most considerate lecturers in Nigeria Tertiary institutions because they are always asking and pleading many times on account of their demand before they announce any strike as such, we want to categorically state it clear that the students are tired of this continuous strike and we don’t want to be pushed to the wall,” he said.
The students also called on the federal government to immediately implement the N50,000 bursary allocation approved by the current government as an appreciation and encouragement for all teachers in the making and N70,000 for education students.
They equally called for the compulsory engagement of the NCE students into Federal Teachers Scheme, FTS, as they are the renowned, trained and qualified teachers for basic and secondary education.
The striking lecturers are demanding a review of Federal College of Education act 1986 and 1993, Rejection of IPPIS, implementation of 2010 Federal Government and COEASU agreement, release of N15 billion revitalization fund among many others.