President Bola Tinubu has been praised by the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) for rejecting the notion that tertiary institutions, including colleges of education, should send 40% of their internally generated revenue to the national government. The COEASU claims this demonstrates his willingness to listen.
In a statement released on Monday in Abuja, COEASU President Smart Olugbeko made the remark and urged the federal government to examine the centralization of payroll administration via the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
He bemoaned the fact that the policy violates the establishment integrity of the College of Education system in particular and the tertiary education sector in general, undermining the Governing Councils’ statutory powers.
Olugbeko stated, “We must acknowledge the sense of good reason, listening disposition, democratic ethos, and responsible leadership shown by Mr. President in suspending the policy without allowing the situation to degenerate into an unnecessary face-off between labor and Government. We knew absolutely that the policy would not stand as we were poised to resist it with all legitimate powers we possess as a Trade Union in the sector.”
“For this reason, we applaud Mr. President for his tact and friendliness about the issue. With Mr. President’s gesture, it appears to us that our union has finally found a government that shares our disposition toward social dialogue, proactive bargaining, constructive engagement, and mutual respect—all of which are qualities that are characterized by pliability to superior logic.
However, we implore the President to take action by using this encouraging inclination to immediately address the financial difficulties facing the College of Education system as well as other tiers of the postsecondary education industry as a whole.
We implore Mr. President to make sure that social discourse and collective bargaining are the primary means of resolving labor-related concerns. Together, we can guarantee both industrial peace and a continuous academic calendar in our institutions by taking this action.
The Governing Councils’ statutory functions are jeopardized by the centralization of payroll administration through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which also compromises the establishment integrity of the College of Education system and the tertiary education sector as a whole.
It exposes the payroll to one-sided manipulations and many forms of fraud that are outside the purview of our institutions’ supervision. Provosts and Governing Councils now have less power and authority to hire people since the Head of Service’s office now decides who gets hired and when.
“IPPIS disregards the unique characteristics of the COE system and goes against international best practices in the administration of postsecondary education.
“Mr. President must also address the illegal dismissal of Governing Councils, which violates the FCE Establishment Act and their three-year statutory mandate.
“The necessity to finalize the long-overdue renegotiation of the COEASU-FG 2010 agreement, as well as the upward review and prompt delivery of the money, are equally concerning to our union. The monthly running grant that is provided to the managements of colleges of education is one area of worry.
“Resolving the issue of outsourced services, specifically cleaning and security; and implementing the special grant and bursary to education students in universities and colleges of education, without further delay.”
