University Students Appeal To FG To Settle With ASUU

Students of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), have appealed to the Federal Government to settle its differences with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) amicably and fast, to enable them to return to school.



Some of the students told a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent on Thursday in Kano that they were not happyabout the development, describing it as “worrisome” and “disturbing.”

Mr Hamisu Balarabe, a 400 level economics student, said he was eager to graduate from the university when he heard about the latest ASUU strike. He said: “the strike has shattered my dreams because it meansI will have to stay longer than I anticipated.

“Honestly, the strikes by ASUU have disrupted our educational pursuit because we cannot plan our lives anymore. It is verydisturbing for us, especially the prospective graduating students.”

Mariya Aminu, a 300 level mass communication student, noted students whose parents lived outside Kano were even more affected.

She said such students had to spend extra money to travel back home and to school again when they re-open.

A new student, Bilyaminu Abdulkadir, who said that the strike has demoralised him, added that “I don’t even know what to do because the strike came even before I settled down in school.”

He urged the Federal Government to negotiate with ASUU and find a lasting solution to the problem for the benefit of the upcoming generation.

In his reaction, Alhaji Aminu Bello, a parent, also urged the Federal Government to negotiate with the union in order to settle the lingering government/ASUU discrepancies.

He said it was high time the government settled with the union “so that our children can settle down and concentrate oin their studies.

“A situation whereby our children keep jumping in and out of school because of strike is not good for the country, more especially when the crime situation is increasing.

“These children need to be engaged and when they are not in school, what do you expect them to do? These are young adultsand adults who must channel their energies into something meaningful.

“The Federal Government and ASUU must negotiate and find a lasting solution to thisperennial problem, if we all want this country to progress. These are our leaders of tomorrow.”

ASUU embarked on an indefinite strike on July 1, to compel the Federal Government to fulfil its pledges to it, as declared by the National President, Mr Isa Fagge.