ASUU Halts UNIBEN Postgraduate Programmes Over Unpaid Entitlements - Abuja City Journal (2024)

By Gabriella Ogbu

The University of Benin (UNIBEN) branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced the immediate withdrawal of its services from the university’s postgraduate program. This decision, made on Sunday, stems from the union’s ongoing efforts to secure payment of unpaid entitlements for postgraduate teaching and supervision.

The unpaid entitlements are linked to the current UNIBEN administration, which is set to conclude its tenure in December 2024. The union emphasized that despite multiple reminders, these payments have remained outstanding.

On Friday, June 14, 2024, the University ASUU Congress convened and resolved to terminate the involvement and participation of all its members in UNIBEN’s postgraduate program. The resolution mandates that all ASUU UNIBEN members immediately cease activities related to postgraduate teaching, supervision, seminars, examinations, and board meetings until all earned honoraria are paid in full.

The union’s demands are specifically tied to work completed under the tenure of the current Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lilian Salami. ASUU insists on a clearly defined structure for the administration and remuneration of academic staff involved in the postgraduate program, to prevent such issues in the future.

The lecturers have vowed to continue their strike action across the university’s postgraduate programs until their demands are met. According to an anonymous source within the organization, the union’s national leadership fully supports this stance. The source stressed the critical nature of their demands in the current challenging socioeconomic environment, stating, “No one will defend us if we do not, particularly in this really severe and agonizing socioeconomic environment. The worker is deserving of his pay.”

Efforts to reach the University’s public relations officer, Dr. Benedicta Ehanire, were unsuccessful as calls to her cell phone did not go through. However, a source close to the Vice-Chancellor indicated that steps are being taken to resolve all outstanding entitlements of ASUU members involved in the postgraduate program.

The withdrawal of ASUU’s services has significant implications for postgraduate students at UNIBEN. The cessation of teaching, supervision, and other academic activities is expected to disrupt the progress of ongoing research and coursework.

By Gabriella Ogbu

MTN Nigeria has announced its commitment to revolutionize education in Nigeria through digital learning initiatives. At a recent gathering of education stakeholders, the telecom giant facilitated discussions aimed at fostering collaborative idea generation to enhance digital learning experiences for students.

Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, lead consultant of #MTNFGDonED and founder of Passnownow.com, underscored the pivotal role of education in national development. She emphasized the necessity for stakeholders to unite in addressing educational challenges and leveraging digital tools to deliver impactful learning outcomes.

“With the aid of mobile technology, we envision a transformative shift in how education is delivered seamlessly across Nigeria,” Akerele-Ogunsiji remarked.

MTN aims to forge partnerships within the digital sphere to co-create innovative educational solutions, a spokesperson highlighted. Aisha Mumuni, Chief Digital Officer of MTN Nigeria, stressed the importance of accountability in policymaking and advocated for increased collaboration between the public and private sectors to drive educational reform.

“Initiatives like this begin with intent,” Mumuni noted, urging a shift from reliance solely on government intervention to collective action involving businesses and other stakeholders.

Dr. Ossom Ossom, Director of Social Mobilization at the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), expressed concerns about the persistent educational disparities between public and private sectors in Nigeria. He called for a paradigm shift towards modern teaching methodologies supported by digital infrastructure.

UBEC, with its network of digital centers nationwide, stands ready to partner with organizations to bolster educational initiatives, Ossom affirmed. “We must discard outdated approaches and embrace innovative strategies,” he emphasized, pointing to the potential of mobile phones and data technology in transforming learning experiences.

The need for collaborative efforts is urgent, Ossom stressed, warning of dim prospects if stakeholders fail to engage meaningfully in educational reform.

Meanwhile, Celine Lafoucriere, UNICEF’s Chief Field Officer, highlighted the rollout of the Nigeria Learning Passport across 19 states. She urged exploring partnerships with MTN to expand digital education access.

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has accredited five additional academic programmes at Salem University Lokoja, Kogi.

The vice-chancellor, Alewo Johnson-Akubo, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Lokoja on Friday.

He said the approval was conveyed to the institution via a letter dated June 6 and signed by the acting director of accreditation, Abraham Chindusu, on behalf of the NUC acting executive secretary, Chris Maiyaki.

Mr Johnson-Akubo said the development followed the NUC’s earlier accreditation of seven other programmes run by the university in 2022.

The vice-chancellor listed the courses as BSc Computer Science, BSc Information Technology, BSc Geology, BSc Microbiology, BSc Biochemistry, and MSc/MBA Business Administration.

The five recently accredited courses in the University’s College of Education include Business Education, Education Computer Science, Education English, Educational Management, and Social Studies.

He said, “Only last year we got the NUC’s approval to run PhD programmes for the teaming Nigerian citizens and foreigners alike to boost education globally.

“This accreditation is cheering news to us as a university, which is out to train the youths to become global leaders and change agents that will bring about the needed growth and development in nations across the globe.”

Mr Johnson-Akubo added, “Today, virtually all the courses being run by Salem University Lokoja are fully accredited, notwithstanding the rush for our courses by candidates desiring to study with us.

“Again, with the kind of infrastructural development we have in place in Salem University, we have what it takes to admit more students into our various departments.”

Mr Johnson-Akubo expressed gratitude to God and the Chancellor, Archbishop Sam Amaga, for making it possible for all the university programmes in the seven colleges to be fully accredited.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of candidates who took the supplementary Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on June 21 and 22.

JAMB’s spokesman, Fabian Benjamin, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

JAMB said the supplementary examination was conducted for 28,835 candidates who could not be biometrically verified during the main 2024 UTME.

JAMB said the other category of candidates were those suspected of having been involved in examination malpractices during the main UTME but who were given a second chance to sit the examination.

“The exercise, which recorded a huge success nationwide, was marked by heightened security measures put in place by the board to preclude any instance of examination infractions.

“As such, some nefarious characters, who had attempted to impersonate bona fide candidates, were apprehended and handed over to law enforcement agencies for further investigation and prosecution,” JAMB said.

JAMB said it would continue to deploy state-of-the-art technology before, during, and after its examinations to ensure that no candidate benefits from any acts of infractions.

JAMB, therefore, urged candidates to refrain from engaging in any form of irregularity during their examinations. It urged candidates to desist from soliciting score upgrades from fraudsters or mutating their result sheets while trying to generate fake result sheets with higher scores.

JAMB advised candidates to check their supplementary UTME results by sending UTMERESULT to 55019 or 66019 using the same phone number they used to generate their profile codes at registration.