..Says no
staff 'll be sent to labour market
BY IKENNA ASOMBA
 |
| Professor John Obafunwa, LASU VC |
Amidst
speculations and fears gripping teaching and non teaching staff that
the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, has concluded plans to send
many of them into the labour market, over an ongoing restructuring
exercise in the university, the management has debunked the
plans, noting that government had only sent a proposal to restructure
the names and curricular content of some programmes offered in the
university.
This is even as the university appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU-LASU) chapter, not to take the institution back to the trenches of disrupted academic calendar, following a recent threat by the union's leadership to call out its members on an indefinite strike, immediately after the ongoing ASUU national strike, over alleged 17 months unpaid arrears.
Reacting
to the purported massive job loss, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. John Obafunwa
said the speculations must be dismissed, as the current decision of
the university's Governing Council to look at ways to review and
repackage the content of the institution's academic curricular to
meet contemporary societal demands does not amount to massive loss of
job.
Obafunwa
said: “It is surprising that the proposal from the Lagos State
Government to the university to restructure our progranmme names, and
curricular content could lead to speculations that the exercise will
amount to job loss. I wish to reiterate that the intention of
government is pure and progressive, meant to reposition our dear
university for excellence and not meant to send any member of staff
to the labour market. For example it was restructuring that led
History to be renamed History and International Studies; Fisheries to
Fisheries and Aquatic Biology; Geography to Geography and planning;
Yoruba and languages to African Languages, Literature and
Communication Arts.”
On the looming ASUU-LASU strike, the Lagos State Chief
Medical Examiner stated that “there was no need making mountain out
of mole-hill. I wish to inform that the university management with
the assistance of the Lagos State Government and the Governing
Council have since commenced the payment of the 17 months salary
increment arrears to members of staff. The government paid 50 per
cent of its own share in December 2012, while the university, with
the approval of the Council, paid the first installment of 20 per
cent of its own share with staff salaries in the month of July 2013.
Before the end of December this year, another 20 per cent would be
paid, as details are being finalized by the bursary department. This
is not salary arrears, but the arrears of an increment granted to
staff sometime ago,” he said.
