ASUU Strike: We Don’t Want To See Our Children At Home – PTA Begs Buhari Gov’t

Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of Nigeria has prayed President Muhammadu Buhari-led government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resolve their lingering issues to avoid another academic shutdown in the country.

Naija News reports that ASUU had in different publications told Nigerians to blame the incumbent government if its association embarks on another strike.

The federal government had also in its response days ago told ASUU to consider the current economic situation in the country and shelve its proposed strike.

However, while the two bodies are yet to reach a yielding agreement, the National President, PTA, Danjuma Haruna, has appealed to President Buhari to quickly intervene to dissuade ASUU from embarking on a fresh nationwide strike.

Haruna while interacting with newsmen in Kaduna on Friday (today), said it was necessary for the government and the academic union to sit at a round table to resolve its issues.

The PTA President warn against the shutdown of academic activities in the universities, noting that a new nationwide strike would definitely affect the educational system in the country.

According to Haruna, many students would be forced to go home thereby increasing social vices in the country, which the parents do not pray to happen.

He noted that solving ASUU problems would help to improve the standard of education in all the universities across the 36 states of Nigeria.

Danjuma Haruna noted that the last ASUU strike which ended in March 2020, lasted for nine months and was only called off when the Federal Government allowed ASUU members receive their salaries through their home-grown University Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS, software instead of the Federal Government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS.

Danjuma said there were still demands by ASUU that the federal government have not completed, warning that ASUU has now threatened to embark on another nationwide strike over those same issues.

The PTA President again appealed to President Buhari and all stakeholders in the Nigerian educational sector to quickly intervene and help resolve the problems, pointing out that if not resolved, it was going to affect University education in Nigeria.

Haruna also appealed to ASUU to please give PTA the last option which is to see Mr President and talk to him, rather than embarking on a fresh strike which may likely have devastating effects on the education sector.

“Our children would definitely come back home if ASUU starts its strike, and this has many negative consequences for our young boys and girls who are supposed to be studying at the universities,” Haruna said.

He added: ”As parents, we would continue to beg ASUU and the Federal government to come to dialogue and resolve their problems rather than a fresh strike.”