The Federal Government on Monday said it has addressed every request made by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), adding that there was no need for the union to go on strike.
“We have addressed every single request by ASUU; there is no need for this strike, and we are pleading with them to go back to school.
“We need to keep our children in school. If there is any group of people that I have met with the most since I assumed this position, it is ASUU,” the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said.
According to him, claims that the government has been slow or unwilling to respond to the union’s demands were incorrect.
“The arrears of their earned academic allowance, we’ve paid ₦50 billion. The President swiftly approved that payment months ago. Why they had earned academic arrears was that they didn’t want the arrears were mainstreamed as part of their salary, which was the best way, but they now came back and we talked to them.
“The earned academic arrears have now been mainstreamed as their salaries. There will never be arrears again.
“We’ve also addressed issues about ...graduate supervision allowances, which are to be paid by the institutions, and I’ve been told that these are being paid.
“There are issues about the needs assessment money, which was not released. If you remember, this assessment was negotiated by them almost 20 years ago, but this government met those liabilities,” he stated.