The Federal Government and striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) officials on Monday failed to reach an agreement after another round of meeting.
Another round of meeting to bring to an end the industrial action embarked upon by ASUU on November 4th, was called by Minister of Education, Adamu Adam.
The meeting began at 5:30 PM and lasted for more than three hours at the headquarters of the federal ministry of education.
National President of ASUU, at the end of the meeting, told reporters that both parties failed to reach an agreement on how to end the strike.
Prof. Ogunyemi said that a new date will be fixed for another round of talks with the federal government.
The ASUU National President said: “The meeting will continue at a later date. We will continue from where we stopped. We will continue at a later date. We have started the discussion,we are continuing and the discussion will continue at a later date. That is what I can say for now.
Pressed by reporters to disclose the date the union will reconvene to address the ongoing strike, the union president said: “You will get to know about it.”
In a related development, House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education, has appealed to the striking lecturers and federal government to find a common ground so that academic activities could resume in the nation’s tertiary institutions.
Chairman of the Committee, Aminu Suleiman, said the House was concerned over the prolong strike.
Suleiman, who led members of his committee on an oversight visit to the ministry of education, urged both parties to look beyond resolving the ongoing crisis and consider providing a long lasting solution that would enable the nation’s education activities move smoothly without any form of disruptions.
In a statement in Abuja on Monday, Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations. Bem Gong, said the federal government was worried over the industrial action and desirous of ending strikes in the education sector despite the challenges of funding confronting the sector.
The statement reads: “Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education Services rose from a one-day oversight meeting with the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu expressing deep concern over the continued strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), urging the federal government and ASUU to expeditiously conclude the ongoing negotiations in order to bring back our students to their campuses and classes.
“Committee Chairman, Hon. Aminu Suleiman said federal government and ASUU must go beyond resolving the current strike to providing lasting solutions that will make strikes in the education sector a thing of the past.
“On his part, Education Minister, Adamu Adamu said, government is desirous to confine strikes in the education to the dustbin history, adding however, that funding remains the greatest obstacle.
“The minister however said, the workshop on sustainable funding for education in Nigeria coming up tomorrow at the Presidential Villa is expected to proffer lasting solutions to the sustainable funding for the sector.”
