The Committee of Pro-Chancellors of state-owned Universities (COPSUN) has advocated for the removal of labour and wages from the exclusive legislative list of the Constitution.
The committee which stated this in a communiqué issued at the end of its 52nd Quarterly meeting at Abuja, said such move will allow state governments exercise appropriate control over their workers.
The meeting which was presided over by a senior lawyer, Mr. Yusuf Ali contended that the structure and operation of the country’s federalism about public institutions established and owned separately by the federal and state governments under different legislation have been a major problem of state universities.
Stressing that state governments should be allowed to negotiate wages with their workers, the committee said the rights of trade unions to demand for welfare of its members should be based on employer-employee relationship.
Worried by the instability in the academic calendars of the state universities fostered by incessant strikes by the academic and non-academic staff unions, the Committee appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) to de-emphasise strikes as the major tool of negotiation with the federal government.
While observing that the disruption of the academic calendars has adversely affected the quality of the nation’s universities, their products and research outputs, the Committee said the core values of education have been negatively impacted by the instability in the university system resulting in falling standards.
The committee announced that as its own contribution to the reform of tertiary education, an international conference will be organised before the end of the year to consider the various challenges facing universities and proffer appropriate solutions.
