*NO
TO FEE HIKE! IMPROVED FUNDING AND DEMOCRATIC MANAGEMENT OF LAUTECH IS THE ONLY
WAY FORWARD!
*ERC
BLAMES OSUN AND OYO STATE GOVERNMENTS FOR THE LAUTECH CRISIS!
The Education Rights
Campaign (ERC) condemns the
governments of Osun State and Oyo State for their irresponsibility which has
been the cause of the lingering crisis at the Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso. It is longer news that LAUTECH has been shut
down for about Seven (7) months now. This is absolute contempt by the
respective governments for the future of the youths particularly the students
of this supposed great institution. This contempt makes it obvious that the
interest of both the Oyo and Osun State governments is to kill public education
as a basis to present the private tertiary institutions as an alternative and
in turn making education less affordable, less accessible and of less quality.
OYO AND OSUN GOVERNMENTS ARE TO BE
BLAMED FOR THE CLOSURE
This closure was a
direct consequence of the inability of the two state governments to pay the
salaries and allowances of workers in the school. This is a result of the fact
that both states did not pay the subvention that was necessary for the smooth
running of the school. This subvention owed by Osun
state and Oyo state is about 22 months.
To us in ERC, this is a
sign of gross irresponsibility on the part of the two state governments.
Despite the decline in the revenue from the FG, it is a deceit for either of
the two state governments to claim that there are no enough financial resources
at their disposal to have avoided this closure in the first instance. It is the
misappropriation and financial corruption of both state governments that have
led to the inability to pay the workers’ wages, not shortage of funds. The
shared funding responsibility on the two states was meant to ensure that the
university is appropriately funded, yet the activities of the university have
been brought to an abrupt stop due to low funding.
The
ERC fully backs the struggle of the staff unions of LAUTECH because it is a
struggle to resist the penchant of Oyo and Osun to shirk their responsibilities
towards the institution. We therefore put the blame for the continued closure
of the University on the intransigence of the anti-education governments of Oyo
and Osun states. At the same time, we share the concern and anger of students
over the continued closure. Seven (7) months of idleness at home is enough to
spark anger among students. This is an entire seven months wasted in the lives
of these young people for no reason of theirs. Also due to the
fact that the school is not a residential school, the closure has led to a
situation where most students’ rents have lapsed without them staying in the
rented apartment for up to half of their yearly tenancy.
STAND
AGAINST DIVISION! WORKERS AND STUDENTS UNITE IN STRUGGLE
The attention of the
ERC has been drawn to an earlier development in the institution where some
rented thugs under the pretense of indigenes of the resident town were
sponsored to beat up some workers in the institution. We condemn this in its
entirety and see it as a ploy to distract workers and stakeholders of the
school from the main enemy of progress, which is the government.
We also suspect this
dastardly action being perpetrated under the guise of campaigning for a review
of the joint ownership of the university as a gimmick possibly initiated by
both state governments and their surrogates, who are beneficiaries of the rot,
to divide and rule the workers of the university against the interest of the
workers. It is this divide-and-rule tactics that is behind the directive that
the funds paid by one state should be used to pay workers originating from that
state alone.
While it has been
reported that Osun state allegedly owes
more of the funding debts, this does not vindicate the Oyo state government
that have always been known for her belligerent and anti-poor attitude towards
public education. The two states are run by the capitalist All Progressives
Congress (APC) ruling party, and therefore share the same pro-commercialization
underfunding policies on the public education sector.
In particular, the
Ajimobi-led Oyo state government has no leverage to claim a moral high ground over
his fellow anti-poor Osun state governor, Aregbesola. We must all recall the
magnificent seven-week strike/mass protests of Oyo state workers, teachers and
pupils last year over unpaid wages and attempts by the Oyo state government to
sell off public secondary schools under the guise of Public Private Partnership
(PPP).
At the moment, almost
all the state-owned tertiary institutions in Oyo state are either on strike or
at different stages of agitations over unpaid salaries and dwindling subventions.
Against this background therefore, there is no guarantee that LAUTECH will
enjoy any spectacular progress even if sole ownership is granted to Oyo state
as some groups have erroneously argued. More so with the prevailing neo-liberal
consensus of the federal and state governments to unload the burden of the
economic recession on the working and poor masses, there is no safe refuge
anywhere. Only the preparedness of workers
and students to fight at all times to defend the right to a public-funded and quality
education can win concessions.
The ERC therefore urge
workers, students and the mass of people in Osun and Oyo states to resist the
attempt to sow division and hatred among them. Only the anti-poor governments
of Osun and Oyo will benefit from such division. We therefore call for unity of
workers, students and the mass of people of Oyo and Osun states in common
struggle to fight for improved funding of LAUECH, re-opening of the institution
and provision of adequate facilities for quality education.
NO
TO FEE HIKE! FOR INCREASED SUBVENTION TO LAUTECH
It is with this premise
that we reject in advance the proposal to increase the school fees of the
students by 65% and 75% for indigenes and non-indigenes respectively, in order
to cover for the shortage of funds. We consider the opinion of fee increment anti-poor
because parents being owed salaries and those being paid half-salaries cannot
be expected to provide the funds to run the school.
We fully understand that
any increment will only deprive many students of the ability to afford tertiary
education and on this basis, we strongly advise the state governments to desist
from such disruptive plans. The fee increment, as proposed by Governor Ajimobi
at a town hall meeting, would raise the fee of the school to about N350, 000.
But, the comment of the governor of Oyo state, Ajimobi, as reported by Premium
Times on December 19, 2016 that ‘there are universities that operate without
subvention’ expresses concretely that the state governments are not interested
in the proper funding of the
university, as the governments audaciously compare the institution to private
universities.
NO
TO REPRESSION! FOR RESPECT OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO
INDEPENDENT STUDENTS UNIONISM
We also condemn the
totalitarian tendencies entrenched in the communiqué of the meeting of the two
states which was published in the Vanguard of October, 21st 2016,
that ‘the duo states hereby enjoin all residents of the two states as well as
other stakeholders including students, teachers and workers to go about their
lawful duties… The states warned that anyone or group that does otherwise will
face the full wrath of the law’.
The above quote defeats all logic of
diplomatic governance as governors are asking unpaid workers to go to work
instead of paying them. Also, the statement is enough grounds for the
indictment of the state governments in the shooting of peacefully protesting
students on the 9th of December the same year, as allegedly ordered
by the governor of Oyo state. In fact, the tyranny was so pronounced that the
police were ordered to arrest the protesting students.
We demand a halt to all
repressions either against students or workers. Also we demand that students’
democratic rights to peaceful protest and independent unionism be respected.
Together with the attacks on workers of the institution, students of LAUTECH
are also being denied the right to independent unionism. Using the pretext of a
crisis during the last Students Union elections, the authorities in a brazen
and despotic manner proscribed the union thus denying the mass of students a
legitimate voice and platform to articulate their demands. The ERC demands that
students be allowed to democratically run their union without interference from
the authorities. We therefore demand the restoration of the LAUTECH Students
Union.
STRUGGLE CONTINUES UNTIL VICTORY!
The
ERC stands with LAUTECH students and urge them to organize bigger protests and
demonstrations until the University is opened. However even if the school is
forced opened, we must continue to demand improved funding and democratic
management of the University because only this can guarantee peace and quality
education on the long run. We call on the entire students’ movement, the labour
movement, civil society organizations and the general public to rise to the aid
of LAUTECH staff and students by condemning the refusal of Osun and Oyo states
to fulfill their responsibilities.
This issued by Education Rights
Campaign, ERC. ERC is a platform formed by members of Democratic Socialist
Movement, DSM. To join us or more information contact the following numbers:
07033697259, 08172748666, and 08161836554
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