JAC calls for removal of bottlenecks in school administration

The Joint Action Committee (JAC), umbrella body of the state-owned tertiary institutions in Oyo State, has called for removal of bottlenecks in schools’ administration procedures.

Its Chairman, Mr Olusegun Oyewumi, made the call in a statement on Wednesday in Ibadan.

Oyewumi said JAC decried the decay of infrastructure in the state institutions’ campuses and called on the government to fully implement “January and April, 2021 Agreements”.

He said that the state government reneged on its agreement after the suspension of industrial action by the unions on April 28.

According to him, the spate of infrastructure decay across the institutions remains worrisome to the workers’ unions.

He said the lackadaisical attitude of the present day government toward stemming the tide and restoring the declining standard in educational institutions was of concern.

“It is our sincere hope that the government will promptly attend to the issues raised in this communiqué.

“JAC had not only shown her patriotism to the government of the state, but had also demonstrated its love for our students and their parents and the educational system by displaying high levels of tolerance and patience thus far.

“While our patience last, we may be constrained to reconsider the present status of our industrial action, if the government remains adamant in not fulfilling her part of the bargains,” he said.

Oyewumi listed some of the agreements to include the defrayment arrangement of the accrued 11 months arrears thus: two months with April 21 salary.

“As at this day, workers in Oyo State College of Education, Lanlate, are yet to receive the arrears of December 2020, January and February 2021, making it three months.

“The proposed expenditure per semester of each institution should be considered through a tripartite meeting of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Governing Councils and respective management, so as to run the school effectively.

“The request was included in the agreement to reduce the excessiveness of platinum consultants, but several weeks after all the schools had commenced new semesters, nothing has been done,” he said.

The chairman, however, demanded that all accreditation related issues across the affected institutions be resolved by the government through the provision of funds.

“Immediate approval of the expenditure per semester of each institution for smooth running of the institutions.

“The doors of dialogue should be kept open at all times, in line with the content of all our previous agreements of January and April 2021, and that the agreement should be reviewed after six months.

“Also, government must always engage JAC in continuous dialogue to ensure harmony in the campus,” he said.