ASUU: BUK Suspends Examination Over Half-Salary Payment, NAMDA Detaches

Bayero University, Kano (BUK) has stalled all academic activities and the ongoing examinations scheduled to hold on Thursday, November 7, 2022, following the lecture-free day and protest embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

A statement signed by the secretary, Information and publication, on behalf of the registrar, Bala Abdullahi disclosed the postponement of academic activities. 

An announcement on the university’s bulletin noted the management's announcement of the rescheduled examinations fixed for Thursday to Tuesday 8th December 2022, to faculties and departments.

Dr Sagir Saleh, Vice-chairperson of ASUU, BUK branch, told journalists that the union obeyed the protest and an academic free day to show its “total rejection” of the “amputated” salary paid to the union's members.

The VC argued that the protest by the union was a warning, noting that it would not hesitate to take fresh action that would be detrimental to the university system.

He added that ASUU would submit a protest letter to the Vice Chancellor to be delivered to the Minister of education.

“We have called off the strike because of the court order and the intervention of the speaker of the house of representatives. 

"The promise was that all our entitlement would be paid but to our dismay, the Federal government decided to pay half salary for the month of September.

“It is upon this action that ASUU called a NEC meeting where resolutions were made. Part of the resolutions are that all branches should embark on one-day free academic work. 

"On that day, we would hold a special Congress and later proceed to a local protest within the university and later visit the Vice Chancellor,” Saleh expressed.

On the other hand, the coordinator of the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), BUK branch, Dr Usman Bashir disassociated members of NAMDA from the planned protest.

Dr Bashir explained that joining the struggle with ASUU would aggravate the academic session, although members of NAMDA were also treated unfairly by the Federal government.

“We are not going on any protest with ASUU because we are no longer in the same academic union. We have our peculiar matters and we prefer to address our issues separately.

“Remember, the faculties of health, health sciences and dentistry run a different program. The students have lost several periods of their academic session. So, we can not afford to waste any academic session anymore,” he said.