NANS urges FG to meet ASUU demands to end strike

ASUU has been on strike for six weeks now.
The South-West zone of the National Association of Nigerian Students
(NANS) on Wednesday called on the Federal government to meet the
demands of striking university lecturers to save undergraduates'
future.
The zonal Coordinator, Tunde Adeyemo, made the call while addressing
anews conference in Lagos.
Mr. Adeyemo said that the current strike would further weaken the
sector and negatively affect the students.
The university teachers, under the aegis of Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU), embarked on what they described as `total,
comprehensive and indefinite` strike on June 30.
The lecturers are protesting non-implementation of some sections of an
agreement ASUU entered into with the Federal Government in 2009.
"We, students, cannot afford to be indifferent to this agreement just
because of our fears about the disruption of the academic calendar.
"Considering the teaching and learning facilities in most of our
universities, there is an urgent need for the government to be more
responsive in the area of mass funding to save the entire sector from
collapse.
"If this agreement is fully implemented, it will mean better funding
of education and a great relief to over-burdened students.
"It is based on this premise that we want to lend our voices, for the
interest of the students, to appeal to the Federal Government to
urgently implement this agreement fully," he said.
Mr. Adeyemo said that university autonomy, improved funding and
independent student unionism were of much concern to NANS.
"We demand that budget monitoring and NEEDS committees must include
elected representatives of staff and students' unions," he said.
(NAN)