The final year students of the University of Maiduguri (UniMaid), Borno State, will not graduate this year following the disagreement between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over the pro-rata payment of salaries.
This was disclosed by the Chairman UniMaid ASUU branch, Dr. Abubakar Mshelia Saidu, during an interview with newsmen on Tuesday.
This follows the failure of the Federal Government to pay the striking lecturers their withheld eight months salaries.
Though the university conducted examinations for students of the 2020/2021 session following the strike, the lecturers had decided not to mark the scripts.
Saidu said; “Members of ASUU will not mark the current examination scripts. They will also not submit the results of both the first and second semesters of the 2020/2021 academic session.”
“There will be no computation of academic status by coordinators of parts 1-4, 5 or 6, as applicable,” he stressed.’’
“Current final year students will not be graduated as departmental and faculty boards and the university Senate will never consider the results of the 2020/2021 session.’’
“Government said ‘no work no pay’, we say ‘no pay no work’.
The Chairman called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to issue a directive for the reversal of the ‘unacceptable’ pro-rata payment of the salaries of university lecturers and ensure the full payment of the eight months withheld salaries of the lecturers.
Prof. Martha Tarfa of the University’s Faculty of Biological Sciences, said; “Government’s decision on the payment of our salaries is not acceptable.”
“We can’t be treated like daily paid workers or labourers; it is unacceptable.”
A law undergraduate, Francis Okoye, who spoke with newsmen said; “These decisions by the ASUU branch of our university is a bad omen to us students.”
“It will be injurious to us.”
“Withholding results will drag us back in our educational career. Most of us have already lost a complete session.”