Colleges of Education lecturers resume suspended strike 

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Lecturers in Colleges of Education under the umbrella of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) have announced the resumption her suspended strike for four weeks following continuing neglect of the sub-sector by the government.

The union in a letter addressed to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, said its decision to embark on the four weeks strike is due failure of the federal government to address their concerns.

In the letter dated June 10th, 2022 and jointly signed by the President Dr Smart Olugbeko and general secretary Dr Ahmed Lawan Bazza, the lecturers said failure of government to meet their demands after 4 weeks will lead to a total shutdown of the Colleges of Education across the country.

The statement reads in part:” With compliments from the National Offices’ Council of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), the Union hereby forwards to you the notice of resumption of the industrial action suspended by the Union on the 5th of December 2018. 

“The Union invoked the inevitable option of strike action by the Academic Staff of Colleges of f Education Nation-wide given government’s lack of respect for a a non-confrontational civil approach to industrial dispute resolution, for which the Union is renowned. 

“The Union however sincerely appreciates the genuine efforts of the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, geared towards resolving the issues but he t our members could no longer tolerate the flagrant neglect of College of Education sub-sector by the Federal and State Governments.

“The Union further considered as unfortunate the evident insensitivity of government as consistently manifested in the manner of the addressing our concerns. 

“This is equivalent by:

Failure of the Federal Government to constitute its Team and commence renegotiation of the FGN-COEASU 2010 Agreement despite all entreaties of the Union.

“Non-release of N15billion approved out of the N456,599,691,18Billion Revitalization Fund for both Federal and State Colleges of Education contrary to repeated promises of the FG

“Non-implementation of 2014 Needs assessment report, Non-payment of outstanding promotion arrears from 2016 to date, Non-payment of responsibility allowance to Librarian in Colleges of Education 

Non-implementation of the consequential effect of the implementation of CONTISS 15 on Lower Cadre (a.k.a. Migration)

Poor Funding of Colleges of Education and poor conditions across State Colleges of Education especially in Ogun, Kwara, Abia, Kogi, Kaduna, Zamfara, Yobe, Oyo, Benue, Edo and Ebonyi States. 

“Federal Government’s recalcitrant insistence on IPPIS instead of UTAS that captures the peculiarity of tertiary institutions, Refusal to mainstream Demonstration Schools staff in the payroll 

“It is, therefore, the resolve of the Union that, effective Friday, 10th June 2022, the suspended strike action in December 2018 be resumed immediately for four weeks in the first instance”.