The Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education, Nigeria (SSUCOEN), has called for increased funding for colleges of education, emphasising the need to renegotiate the 2010 agreement with the government and its sister unions.
Speaking at the 40th National Delegate Conference of SSUCOEN, held at the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, the President of the Union, Comrade Danladi Ali Msheliza, noted that governments must prioritise teacher education, which, according to him, is the bedrock of every nation’s development.
He said, “There is serious admission apathy and attrition towards teacher education, and the problem is nothing but the welfare of teachers in this country.
“So we’ve called on government severally, and we are still calling on government to ensure that the welfare of our workers is given priority. You cannot neglect our subsector because the role we play can never be overemphasised.
“Most of our challenges surround the renegotiation of the 2010 agreement. The renegotiation document contains issues of salary and allowances review, the funding of governing councils’ meetings and activities, and the mainstreaming of demonstration schools. We need to resume negotiations with a view to ensuring that it’s taken holistically.
“That is the reason why I said government needs to do more for us as colleges of education in this country. We’ve now been given a dual mandate to run both degree and NCE programmes concurrently, without affiliation to any university. Processes are ongoing, with a view to perfecting how the dual mandate will be run and executed.”
In his address, the host and chapel chairman of the association, Comrade Oladipupo Omobosola, proposed a collaborative effort among all unions across tertiary institutions in the country as an alternative approach to strike action to address contemporary issues bedevilling the country’s tertiary education sector.
“We have discovered that instead of striking all the time and getting nothing out of it, there should be other approaches which, of course, can compel the attention of government and other employing organisations and individuals in the interest of the workforce population.
“One of those strategies and actions includes working together as units. We are precisely considering contemporary issues and how they affect tertiary education, different unions, its three tiers, as well as monotechnics. If all of us can agree to work together as people with the same interest, we can definitely compel the attention of government and every other stakeholder responsible for attending to our yearnings and demands. We fear that we are strong enough, whereas none of us is strong in isolation,” he said.
The guest speaker, the immediate past chairman of the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Professor Olusegun Ajiboye, who was represented by Professor Abiodun Onilude, a former chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan, urged the government to take necessary steps to avoid strikes by unions on campuses. He also implored the delegates to remain focused on their objectives and avoid politicking or inducements of any kind.
The event, themed “Trade Union Practice in the Contemporary Nigerian Tertiary Education Sector: Clogs, Reflections, and Panacea for a Robust Industrial Climate,” was attended by the former deputy governor of Oyo State, Engr Rauf Olaniyan, who serves as the chairman of the college’s governing council; the provost of the host college, Dr Rauf Salami, who was represented by the deputy provost, Dr Adekunle Adebiyi; Chief Wasiu Alli; and representatives of SSUCOEN across colleges of education in the country.
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