The Federal Government yesterday clarified that the 2009 agreement it reached with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) remains valid and enforceable.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who had on Thursday dismissed the agreement as a mere draft, recanted his earlier position in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday.
He explained that contrary to his previous remarks suggesting that there was no binding pact, the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement subsists in law and continues to guide engagements between both parties.
His volte-face came after ASUU had swiftly faulted his claim, insisting that the agreement was not only duly signed but also a reference point in its long-standing agitation for improved welfare and revitalisation of the nation’s universities.
Dr. Alausa further noted that while the 2009 and 2011 frameworks contained several recommendations that emerged from negotiations, they are nonetheless instruments upon which subsequent discussions have been predicated.
Observers say the clarification is critical, given that the status of the 2009 pact has often been at the centre of disputes between the Federal Government and the university teachers’ union, with recurrent strikes disrupting the academic calendar.
ASUU has repeatedly maintained that government’s failure to fully implement the 2009 agreement — covering funding, salaries, allowances and university autonomy — has been a major source of mistrust.
Stakeholders in the education sector have now urged both parties to move beyond rhetoric and commit to practical steps that would forestall another round of industrial unrest in the universities.
