The suspension of the 40% deduction from the internally generated revenues of Federal Government-owned tertiary institutions in the country by president, Bola Tinubu, earned commendation from the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU). The union, in a statement made available in Abuja, described the policy as “backward” and announced its resistance to its reintroduction. The announcement of the policy’s suspension was made by Tinubu via the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, at the University of Ibadan last Friday, and received widespread criticism from academic unions such as COEAU, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, among others.
COEASU’s statement expressed satisfaction with the president’s decision to suspend the policy and commended his sensitivity and amiability on the matter. The union also urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to address funding challenges in the College of Education system and other tiers of the tertiary education sector. Furthermore, COEASU called on the President to ensure that issues raised by labor are proactively dealt with through social dialogue and collective bargaining to ensure industrial tranquility and an uninterrupted academic calendar in institutions.
The union anticipated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would apply these virtues towards addressing other issues plaguing the College of Education system and prone to industrial crises, such as the centralization of payroll administration through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System. COEASU stated that the system undermines the statutory functions of governing councils and breaches the establishment integrity of the tertiary education sector, which goes against global best practices in the management of tertiary institutions and disrespects the peculiarities of the COE system.