Tobias Sylvester
The National Universities Commission (NUC) has announced a new date for resumption of academic activities in all public universities accross the country, following the suspension of 10-month-old industrial action by the Academic Staff union of Universities (ASUU).
KanyiDaily recalls that ASUU had last two week suspended its ten-month-old strike after the federal government met their demands, including paying the lecturers their outstanding salaries using an older payment platform, GIFMIS.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the NUC’s Deputy Executive Secretary (Administration), Chris Maiyaki, on behalf of the Executive Secretary, Professor Abubakar Rasheed, the commission directed vice-chancellors of universities to resume academic activities on January 18, 2021.
The NUC noted that the directive was in accordance with the directive of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, noting further that universities must under no circumstance violate the full cycle of the semester system.
It also urged universities to safeguard lives by strictly adhering to the extant safety protocols and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines, which have been communicated severally through NUC’s circulars.
“I am to add that universities on resumption of academic activities must under no circumstance violate the full cycle of the semester system, consistent with the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) approved by the NUC, as well as other extant quality assurance standards and guidelines,” the statement noted.
KanyiDaily recalls that Nigeria’s public universities have been closed since March 2020, after the ASUU embarked on a strike. There was also a lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19.
