Unions reject FG’s planned reversal of education varsities to colleges By Kanayo Umeh, Abuja on August 31, 2015

WORKERS of the four new universities of education that
were downgraded by the Federal Government have
appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently
intervene in the controversy and restore the status of the
institutions.
They have also called the Acting Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs.
Hindatu Abdullahi, to withdraw the letter she
purportedly authored and signed ordering the
reversal of the conversion of the four institutions
from colleges of education to universities of
education.
The workers, under the auspices of the Joint
Trade Unions of the four universities of
education, namely Federal University of
Education, Kano; Federal University of
Education, Zaria; Adeyemi Federal University of
Education, Ondo and Alvan Ikoku University of
Education, at a news conference at the weekend
in Abuja, vowed to resist the attempt to revert
the institutions to colleges of education.
Haruna said that contrary to insinuations that
the institutions were elevated in a hurry at the
twilight of President Jonathan’s administration
for political reasons; they had been running
undergraduate programmes in affiliations with
various universities for decades.
The staff unions who vowed to work against
the planned reversal of the institutions under
the Joint Trade Unions are: Academic Staff
Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff
Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU),
Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities
(NASU), and National Association of Academic
Technologists (NAAT).
Haruna stated that allowing the institutions to
operate as universities would boost teacher
education in the country.
According to him: “A controversy was sparked
off by a letter from the Acting Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, dated
August 19, directing former provosts of the
universities to revert the institutions to their
former status.
“We are aware that some unscrupulous
elements within the academics of the colleges
have, for their own personal interest, teamed up
to overthrow the upgrade of the institutions.
“They are trying to do so by misinforming Mr.
President on the circumstances which led to the
emergence of the colleges as universities.
“We urge President Buhari to step in and
address this issue because some individuals are
trying to take advantage of their closeness to
the Presidency to truncate the good intention,”
Haruna said.