The Ladoke Akintola
University of Technology,
LAUTECH, Ogbomosho
appears set to resume in
January as the owner states
of the university consider the
report of a panel they set up
on the crisis that has kept
students away since June.
Multiple sources, however,
told PREMIUM TIMES that a
key recommendation of the
panel is an increase in
tuition and other fees to
shore up internally generated
revenue as a solution to the
recurrent funding challenges
of the university.
Another recommendation,
said the sources, would be to
share out the faculties to the
owner states under a new
funding arrangement.
The Academic Staff Union of
Universities, Non-Academic
Staff Union, and Senior Staff
Association of Nigerian
Universities in the university
had declared a strike on June
9 to protest inadequate funds
to run the institution and pay
the workers.
LAUTECH is jointly owned by
Oyo and Osun, the two states
that constituted old Oyo State
before Osun was excised in
1991 to form a separate state.
PREMIUM TIMES can
exclusively report that the
visitation panel set up by the
governments of the two states
has concluded its work and is
about to submit its report.
A member of the committee,
who pleased anonymity,
confirmed the development.
The spokesman of the
university, Lekan Fadeyi, in a
chat with JUST EVENTS
said there was confidence the
protracted crisis was coming
to a close and that the
management was waiting for
the directive to reopen the
university.
Mr. Fadeyi cited the visitation panel as a
demonstration of the seriousness Oyo
and Osun state governments attached to
resolving the crisis.
A top source in the University, who also
asked not to be named, said the
reopening of the university hinged on
the submission of the report of the
visitation panel.
“Nothing can be done until they submit
their report and then the directive to
open the university will follow soon, all
things being equal”, said the source.
In an audio obtained by JUST EVENTS, the Oyo State Governor, Abiola
Ajimobi, expressed dismay over a recent
street protest by students of the
university on the long closure of the
institution.
“One of the students called me that they
were arrested by the police”, the
governor, speaking in Yoruba, said in
the audio. “I asked them what they have
done and they said they blocked the
main road. Why will they block the main
road, for what?
“Well, there are universities that operate
without subvention and a committee has
been set up to look at how LAUTECH can
operate; when they submit their report
in January, we will reopen the
university.
“There is no subsidy anywhere again,
but some students should not start going
on the streets to protest, if there is
anything wrong, one doesn’t have to
fight”, the governor said.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the
academic staff had at some point turned
down an offer of 41 percent of their
salaries from the university
management.
It is not clear whether the management
intends to go ahead with the payment
before a white paper on the report of
the visitation panel is released.
“If they receive alert on Monday
(December19), if ASUU changes her
stance, the university will resume for
sure by January,” a top management
staff told this newspaper at the weekend.
The protracted crisis in the university
had been blamed on the failure of Osun
state to meet its financial obligation to
the university.
0 Comments