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COEASU FCET Umunze to sanction any member found supervising students examination amidst warning strike

 



By Okey Okereke


The College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Federal College of Education Technical (FCET), Umunze, Anambra State, Monday, warned that it would sanction any of it member found supervising or marking end of semester examination allegedly ongoing in the institution.


The public relations officer of the FCET Umunze, Mr Sam Otti had in a statement entitled ignore Fake News of Strike in FCET Umunze- Management, claimed that the College on Friday, August 26, 2022 held her joint matriculation ceremony, with a large number of teaching staff, including Deans, Heads of Departments, Coordinators of programmes and other categories of teaching staff in attendance.


Otti in the report added that  "No fewer than 562 students were admitted into the degree and NCE programmes of the institution. Several parents that attended the matriculation ceremony hailed the College for running an uninterrupted academic calendar and empowering students for a brighter and rewarding future. 


"Addressing the Parents Management Forum earlier before the matriculation ceremony on Friday, the College Provost, Dr Tessy Okoli expressed satisfaction with the peace enjoyed in the institution. She maintained that the College has continued to graduate her students in record time. She said the students of the College have already started their First Semester examination, which would continue seamlessly next week. She advised parents to disregard the fake report of strike, which was intended to cause panic and incite students' unrest."


The Chairman of College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), FCET Umunze chapter, Dr Churchill Okonkwo, in a statement on Monday, insisted that the citadel of learning was on strike and urged parents and guardians yet to withdraw their wards from the institution to go on as the three weeks warning strike which commenced on Tuesday, August 23 was unstoppable.


The strike, according to Okonkwo, was to press home for their unpaid allowances which included DTA or mobilisation for teaching practice supervision that was owed since 2018, TETFUND teaching practice intervention owed since 2016 and other welfare packages like degree honorarium.


According to him, 50% of the students already gone back home, even as it would amount to disservice if the management continues with the examination with half of the students absent. 


"Also how can we defend such exams? The Strike will continue as long as the management fails to do the needful. Any staff participating in any examination will be penalised the Union way. COEASU Exco will intensify their monitoring exercises to ensure total compliance. Any staff that was harassed or intimidated by any management staff should quickly report to the Exco.


"The management should also realise that keeping the students perpetually in College when no academic work is ongoing is punishment to their parents who are paying for their upkeep. They cannot continue to keep the students in the College with lies when such students are not kept busy with academic activities. Remember that idle mind is a devil's workshop.


"As a Union, we are all aware of the sacrifices we have made as a body to carry on with our tasks in the College despite the neglect of our welfare packages by the management who is currently so versed in the divide and rule antics instead of addressing the raised issues. We are also aware that if not for COEASU wielding in to source for N1m to sponsor Agajelu to Abuja to demand our welfare that Management didn't care that we are owed the TETFUND intervention since 2016 neither were they sympathetic to the fact that TP mobilisation hadn't been paid since 2018 and same non challance has also attended our demands for Degree Honorarium.


" It means that our meagre salaries are tasked to pay for our transportation to supervise teaching practice exercise since 2016 whereas the management always collects their DTA (which is what TP mobilisation is actually is) everytime they travel or leave the College environment for official duties. All of us are aware of the several interventions by well meaning individuals to avert industrial actions and the counter posture of the management to that peace initiative.


"They have tried to use queries, warnings, Disciplinary panels to solve problems dialogue and commitment can resolve. They always think that justice can be pushed aside with injustice and this is quite unfair. At our Congress of Tuesday 23rd August 2022, the Provost was given a fair chance to appeal to us and make promises that will postpone the strike but rather than do it she resorted to threat.


" Labour Unions are validly recognised in law and their mandate are well spelt out in the 3rd schedule of our Nigerian Constitution and therefore do not easily succumb to threats and intimidation. We have presented facts that shows that had the management been willing to pay these arrears, they can and will easily do that.


"Our College has been made a laughing stock to other Colleges in terms of our staff welfare, environment and governance. We're the dirtiest and most unkempt College in Nigeria with overgrown grasses everywhere. No clean sanitary facilities resulting in lecturers and students mostly relieving themselves in the highly overgrown grass velts. 


"Before this new management, lecturers were assigned biros, files and markers but now we will spend our money to buy these. Before now, College generators power the entire school and departments but now every school and department must buy their generator and also fuel it to make outputs. Before now, accreditation are fully sponsored by the College but last accreditation HODs and Deans were given paltry sums to run around for accreditation and most of them are still being owed what they spent. 


"This is something that other Sister Colleges do with ease and we ask; is our College created differently from other Colleges in Nigeria? Are we not receiving the same subvention and running cost other Colleges are receiving? Why are we different. We complain of dwindling Enrollment and we have not asked why the Enrollment took a dive from what we use to have before 2018? Can we not see that management tactics and belligerence are to blame for the Backwardness in FCET Umunze recently?


"Continuing further, we embarked on Strike since Tuesday 23rd August 2022 but instead of calling COEASU to negotiate a way forward by giving us timely resolutions on how to pay the owed allowances, they have been busy running around and trying to confuse the public that we are not on strike. It is COEASU that declared strike and it is COEASU that will call of the Strike. It is therefore the resolve of Exco and with your active support that


" If you're given query for demanding your rights please happily collect it and forward to the Chapter executive Council who will give you all the necessary support. All academic staff should acknowledge that if they don't stand with their Union and defend their rights now that they will be treated worse by management in future


" We are resolute that we cannot call off the strike until we receive our payments. All Deans are by this notice reminded that you are elected and not appointed. A few that we have reports that are using their office to Intimidate the same staff that gave them their support to superinted over their schools should know that such attitude is the worst form of tyranny to the principles of collective bargaining. 


"Please do not force your staff through calls or direct intimidation to disrespect their Unions. They will come back to perform their duties naturally when the strike is called off by COEASU. The management should also realise that keeping the students perpetually in College when no academic work is ongoing is punishment to their parents who are paying for their upkeep. They cannot continue to keep the students in the College with lies when such students are not kept busy with academic activities. Remember that idle mind is a devil's workshop," he noted. 

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