There is no respite yet for innocent Nigerian students as the Academic Staff Union of Universities has extended its strike.
The Federal Government has failed to grant ASUU’s demand for salaries, so it has extended the strike.
Its decision was taken after the National Executive Council meeting at the union’s headquarters at the University of Abuja on Monday morning.
The union embarked on the strike on Feb. 14 demanding for a renegotiation of agreements reached between it and the government in 2009.
It is also demanding that government should shelve the payment of members’ salaries using its Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) through which it pays its employees.
ASUU is asking government to instead adopt the union’s payment platform option, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Ben Goong, told newsmen that government had taken all possible steps to end the strike.
“Government has already inaugurated a committee to harmonise the IPPIS, UTAS, and UP3, a salary payment platform introduced by another union within the university system.
“This will ensure that the government will pay with only one payment platform that will harmonise all the technical peculiarities.
“If you bring some demands and almost 80 per cent have been attended to, there is no need to drag the strike anymore.
“It is unreasonable for the strike to be lingering seeing that government has worked toward meeting most of the demands,’’ Goong said.
