Following the House Committee on Education set up by the Rivers State House of Assembly to investigate disagreement between the RSUST authority and the ASUU in the institution, the committee has demanded that the law establishing the institution be amended to suit present realities in the Nigeria universities system.
The report which was presented on the floor of the House last weekend by the chairman of the committee, Hon. Augustine Paul Ngo, a lawmaker representing Abua/Odua constituency in the state House of Assembly, explained that the committee in the course of their investigation observed that there was no cordial relationship between professor Barineme Fakae, the Vice Chancellor of the institution and the Academic staff union of the university.
Prior to the investigation, the committee had organized a public hearing on the matter to seek imputes and opinion from stakeholders, observing that the crises which rocked the institution may be attributed to the fact that the vice chancellor of the institution was appointed from outside, against the expectation of the university, hence the committee sought for amendment of the RSUST law to suit the present realities in the university system.
The committee further recommended that the state government should implement the 2009 federal government Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, agreement with immediate effect to staff of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology as it affects all universities.
The fact finding education committee also recommended that the office of the vice chancellor should be advertised by the governing council at the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent to ensure due process, stressing that negative measure against anybody who participated should be reversed.
The committee further demanded that both the governing council and the senate should live up to responsibility enshrined in the institution to pilot the affairs of the institution effectively.
On the check off dues which were withheld, the committee recommended that it should be re-instated to enable union function effectively.
The committee which observed that the Dean of Post Graduate school, Professor E. N Amadi, does not enjoy the respect and support of the ASUU, demanded for his sack and be replaced by a successor.
In a related development a bill seeking to compensate political office holders after they have left office in the state, tagged “Public Office Holder’s Payment of Pension Bill 2012,” presented before the House last week, has been committed to the House Committee on Finance.
The speaker of the House, Otelema Dan Amachree who presided over the sitting urged them to submit their report within two weeks. ###
Emeka Jilly Ejiowhor
