EDUCATION COLLEGES LECTURERS BEGIN STRIKE

Members of the Colleges of Education
Academic Staff Union (COEASU) have begun
an indefinite strike over what an official said
were efforts to “salvage the institutions from
total collapse.”

The strike was called on Monday, leading to
the suspension of academic activities at
Federal Colleges of Education and other
similar colleges around the country.
The lecturers are concerned over the Federal
Government’s Integrated Personnel Payment
System (IPPS) as well as on the decaying
infrastructure in the colleges.
The strike came soon after university lecturers
ended a long-drawn industrial action that
lasted nearly six months.
An official of COAESU, who does not want to
be named because he was not authorised to
speak, said the union went on strike because
it appeared this was the “only language that
the Federal Government understands.”
“Our colleges are rotting away; no befitting
libraries, hostels, lecture halls and other
structures. The books in our libraries today
are outdated,” he said.
The official said colleges of education needed
adequate funds for transformation to enable
them provide the expected services to the
nation.
“Another vital issue which COEASU wants
government to address is the implementation
of migration on its junior staff to the IPPS
system…. COEASU wants government to stop
the implementation of IPPS on the colleges of
education because it will disrupt its progress,”
he said.
He said “colleges of education as teacher-
training institutions have unique features
different from that of universities. We have
teacher training and teaching practice
programmes which are basic instruments for
producing qualitative teachers but government
is not allocating funds for these programmes.”
The official added that colleges of education
are sponsoring their products for such
programmes out of their salary allocations,
and that if the IPPS was implemented these
programmes would automatically be wiped out
from the system.
STRIKE

Members of the Colleges of Education
Academic Staff Union (COEASU) have begun
an indefinite strike over what an official said
were efforts to “salvage the institutions from
total collapse.”
The strike was called on Monday, leading to
the suspension of academic activities at
Federal Colleges of Education and other
similar colleges around the country.

The lecturers are concerned over the Federal
Government’s Integrated Personnel Payment
System (IPPS) as well as on the decaying
infrastructure in the colleges.
The strike came soon after university lecturers
ended a long-drawn industrial action that
lasted nearly six months.
An official of COAESU, who does not want to
be named because he was not authorised to
speak, said the union went on strike because
it appeared this was the “only language that
the Federal Government understands.”

“Our colleges are rotting away; no befitting
libraries, hostels, lecture halls and other
structures. The books in our libraries today
are outdated,” he said.
The official said colleges of education needed
adequate funds for transformation to enable
them provide the expected services to the
nation.

“Another vital issue which COEASU wants
government to address is the implementation
of migration on its junior staff to the IPPS
system…. COEASU wants government to stop
the implementation of IPPS on the colleges of
education because it will disrupt its progress,”
he said.
He said “colleges of education as teacher-
training institutions have unique features
different from that of universities. We have
teacher training and teaching practice
programmes which are basic instruments for
producing qualitative teachers but government
is not allocating funds for these programmes.”

The official added that colleges of education
are sponsoring their products for such
programmes out of their salary allocations,
and that if the IPPS was implemented these
programmes would automatically be wiped out
from the system.