The Federal Government has said that finding a lasting solution to the ongoing strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities is not as simple as many Nigerians think.Lai
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed this to State House correspondents after the weekly federal executive council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa.
ASUU had embarked on strike on February 14 over unresolved issues with the federal government and since then, all the public universities have been shut down.
Speaking on the ongoing strike, Mohammed noted that the government was worried over the long closure of the public universities and was making frantic efforts to ensure that all the contentious issues are resolved.
He said, “And then the other question has to do with the ASUU strike. I think if I remember this e-learning, I think it has to do more with primary schools and not universities.
“And I don’t think because we’re having challenges with the university lecturers, we should stop primary school students from continuing with their education.
“And I wish that the ASUU issue is as simple as many of us think it is. I don’t think it’s that simple. But I want to assure you that a lot is going on behind the scenes.
“And I think probably the Minister of Education will be better positioned to give the details. But like any government, if we’re not concerned, we would not set up all the committees which have been working. If we are not concerned, we will not be looking for means to even assuage the feelings of the Union.
“We’re worried, we’re concerned, and we’ll continue to work towards finding an early resolution of the problem”, he added.
