GOVERNOR David Umahi of Ebonyi State, Wednesday stressed that there’s was no way the country can borrow N1.1 trillion, in order to meet the demand of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
ASUU, which has been on strike for over five months, is demanding among other things, the full implementation of the 2009 agreement it signed with the Federal Government.
Umahi stated this when he received the Board of Trustees of Nigeria Police Trust Fund at the new Government House, Abakaliki.
According to Umahi, “I cannot see how we cannot sit down with our ASUU leaders and iron out this problem about the ASUU strike.”
He advised the Federal Government to begin by releasing fraction by fraction of the funds demanded by ASUU as a way of finding lasting solutions to the present educational challenge facing the country.
“I have read social media, newspapers how students got into trouble just by sitting at home or engaging in means of keeping themselves busy instead of being in schools. There is no way the country Nigeria will go and borrow 1.1trillion to meet ASUU demand, its quite unreasonable. Are their demands genuine? Yes, but we can start little by little.
“There must be commitment on the side of both parties that look, this ASUU are not asking this to take to their houses so to say, they are asking it for our children to better the infrastructure, to better the lecturers and the students. Yes, but we can start with a fraction of that and then have a programme that will run on the platform of sincerity to address all the lots.
“But let me also say that most of the time, our people have low appetite for maintenance of public works. No matter how much you deploy to these universities, unless the users, the industry, the regulators, unless they begin to treat public infrastructure as their own in the various universities, it will continue to go bad no matter how much the federal government deploy to it.”
He said: Our basic problem in this country remains security, health and education. Let me say a little about Education sector, which is in our public domain and which is the ASUU strike and I think that our education system is not being properly articulated.
“University Education is not for everybody and that is the truth. The basic education every country strives to attain is secondary school and vocational schools. These are the basic schools and when you have these qualifications, you will be able to use it either to start up something or to be able to use it to be employed and while you are in employment, if you don’t have the mercy, you will be able to aspire to university education.
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“There is a need to review our educational system, it mustn’t be for everybody. I am not ashamed that I have first degree and my Deputy is a PhD holder, it doesn’t matter. It is what you bring on board. So, I cannot see how we cannot sit down with our ASUU leaders and iron out this problem about the ASUU strike.
“So, it is important for ASUU to show some understanding and for those who are negotiating on the side of government to also show some understanding. Lets meet ourselves halfway and then open the schools to save the fate of our children.
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