The Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria has condemned what it termed as ‘open and shameful neglect’ pervading educational system in Nigeria.
Re-acting to fresh threat emanating from members of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) over the non-payment of unpaid outstanding salaries that necessitated ‘a week warning strike’ in all Nigerian Universities recently, the Group said the new Administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must be different in addressing industrial matters capable of causing educational backwardness in the Country.
In a Press Statement issued by the Group and signed by its National Coordinator Alh. Ibrahim Abdullahi, the Group noted regrettably that the last Federal Administration was notorious for uncared attitude on educational and health matters which resulted in terrible several strike actions that caused setbacks for the Country, the Group pointed out that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assurance on ‘Bye Bye to strikes, lock-outs and industrial instability’ must be affected to allow better education to flourish in Nigeria.
The Nation should recall that the two Hon. Ministers of Education initially claimed ignorance of the SSANU demands when the warning strike started recently.
The Group then asked ‘what have they done to prevent full-blown strike from happening soon in our educational system; since the warning strike ended?
The Group therefore called on the Minister of Education Professor Tahir Mamman to prevent the impending SSANU strike again by addressing all issues at stake without further delay.
On the non-collection of several billions of Naira by 24 States from UBEC to address educational development in schools across the Federation, the Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria said this has shown how less the State Governors rated the education industry in Nigeria.
The Group said that while the Governors rhetorically speak on educational development, their non-payment of counterpart funding for the past five to ten years, have shown that they work against educational development especially at primary, junior and senior secondary levels which are the foundations of proper education, because their own biological children attend elitist schools.
This bad attitude of Nation’s Leaders must stop, the Group concluded.
