COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF A MEETING OF THE CHAIRMEN OF THE UNITY SCHOOLS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SENIOR CIVIL SERVANTS OF NIGERIA (ASCSN) IN THE 104 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COLLEGES NATIONWIDE HELD IN LAGOS ON THURSDAY 17^TH SEPTEMBER 2009

The meeting of Chairmen of the Unity Schools of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) in the 104 Federal Government Colleges throughout the country was held in Lagos on Thursday 17^th September 2009 to review the implementation of various aspects of the agreements signed since 13^th January 2009 by the Leadership of the Association and the Management of the Federal Ministry of Education in respect of outstanding labour issues in the Ministry.

After an exhaustive deliberation in respect of all the issues in dispute, the meeting noted that:-

(a)     The first three Unity Schools were established in 1966 in Okposi for Eastern region, Warri for Western region and Sokoto for northern region and that they were meant to be centres for national integration and models for secondary education.

(b)    In 1970 when the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon visited Federal Government College, Sokoto, he was amazed when the students there greeted him in 12 different Nigerian languages including his own and he there and then declared that he would set up more Federal Government Colleges, a pledge he fulfilled in 1973 when he established eight more Unity Schools at Ikot-Ekpene, Odogbolu, Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri, Ilorin, Jos and Port Harcourt

(c)     Ironically, eight years later in 1978 precisely when General Olusegun Obasanjo visited Federal Government College, Odogbolu, Ogun state, he told the then Principal, Mr. G. A. Unuigboje, that he would hand over the Unity Schools to state governments because they were too expensive to run..

(d)    Responding, Mr. Unuigboje advised General Obasanjo not to contemplate doing such a thing because if the schools were handed over to the state governments, the visions of the founding fathers would be defeated.

(e)     It is remarkable that General Obsanjo’s desire to scrap the schools re-emerged in 2006. The Minister of Education Obiageli Ezekwesili (as she then was)  submitted a memorandum to the Federal Government requesting for the privatization of the Unity Colleges because they were too expensive to run and coupled with the fact that the students were not doing well. More importantly, she stated that the visions of the founding fathers had “fossilized” and was no longer relevant.

(f)      It is pertinent to realize that this objective of selling the Federal Government Colleges with their vast expanse of lands, monumental buildings and other structures to a select few of the political elite and their stooges had not been jettisoned and was still being pursued by the Government.

(g)     When the move to sell the Unity schools and other sundry issues emerged, a Trade Dispute was declared by the Leadership of the Association against the Management of the Federal Ministry of Education in December, 2008 on various demands which include the restoration of Junior Secondary School Classes into the Federal Unity Colleges.

(h)    Although the Federal Ministry of Labour facilitated a meeting between the Union and the Management of the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja during which the Federal Ministry of Education was given 30 days to meet the demands of the union, nothing was done on any of the issues in dispute until the 30 days expired on 4^th January, 2009.

(i)       On 6^th January, 2009, after an emergency meeting in Lagos, the Chairmen of the Unity Schools of the Association in the 104 Federal Government Colleges resolved to embark on  strike action from 7^th January, 2009 since the ultimatum given to the management to meet the Union’s demands had expired without any of the issues being addressed.

(j)       A meeting between the leadership of the Union and the Hon. Minster of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu, eventually took place on 13^th January, 2009 at the Federal Ministry of Education Conference Room in Abuja, in which the Hon. Minster accepted that the issues raised by the union were fundamental, but requested the suspension of the strike action to enable him study the issues and make further consultations since he was new in the Ministry.  That request was acceded to by the union leadership which suspended the strike.  Another meeting was then fixed for Thursday, 22^nd January, 2009 to further deliberate on the issues in dispute and a communiqué was signed.

(k)    At the 22^nd January, 2009 meeting presided over by the Hon. Minister of State for Education, Hajiya Aishatu Jibril Dukku, all the issues in dispute were agreed upon with 31^st March, 2009 set as the deadline for the implementation of the decisions.  A communiqué was signed by the two parties.  None of the decisions reached was implemented.

(l)       On the 2^nd of June, 2009 after another round of strike by the Union, another agreement was signed at the end of the meeting between the Federal Ministry of Education and the Union at the instance of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity.

(m)   More than three months after the signing of the agreement, none of the issues agreed upon had been implemented by the Federal Ministry of Education. The highlights of the agreement are:

(i)  That the Unity Schools will not be ceded or sold.

(ii)  That the Senator (Prof) Jonathan Silas Zwingina committee set up by the Hon Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu, has already recommended the reintroduction of the junior arms component of the Unity Colleges

(iii) That Government should demonstrate genuine intention in implementing this report.

(iv) That the Federal Ministry of Education should pay up all the arrears of salaries and allowances of staff particularly the one that has to do with the punitive posting of over 3,000 employees in the Ministry despite the advice to the contrary by the Union

(v)  That the Federal Ministry of Education should fast-track the activities of the committee set up to work out the modalities for the reintroduction of the JSS Classes while the Federal Ministry of Labour should monitor the process.

(n)     We believe that the refusal of the Government to restore the JSS 1-3 classes is a deliberate policy to phase out the Unity Colleges by attrition despite feeble denials by the Government.

(o)    The Hon. Ministry of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu on 26^th February, 2009 set up Senator Jonathan Silas Zwingina Committee to evaluate the Unity Schools and make recommendations on how to reposition them.

(p)    The report of the Zwingina committee stated as follows: “The Committee was alarmed by the continued absence of the JS 1 to 3 streams as well as the possible absence of SSI in all the Federal Unity Colleges in the country. If these streams are not taken on-board before September 2009, the Federal Unity Colleges may face extinction by the year 2013. We have recommended that appropriate directives be given to commence admissions to these streams.”

(q)    The Zwingina Panel including parents/teachers associations in the Unity schools, students, civil society groups, conscientious prominent citizens, religious groups and their leaders all support the continued existence of the Unity schools and restoration of JSS classes in the schools.

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Consequently, the meeting resolved as follows:

(i)    That all men of goodwill, the general public including civil society groups, parent/teacher associations, trade unions, royal fathers, religious organizations, student unions, eminent Nigerians, the media, etc, should prevail on the Federal Ministry of Education to admit students into the JSS I-3 classes of the 104 Federal Government Colleges this new academic session scheduled to commence at the end of September 2009.

(ii)  That the meeting denounced the arbitrary stoppage of salaries of education officers without following the due process and demanded that Principals should stop the practice forthwith in the interest of justice, equity and fairness.

(iii)           That there will be no resumption of classes in the 104 Federal Government Colleges if the JSS classes are not restored in the new session and all other aspects of the signed agreement are not implemented.

(iv)           That all parents and guardians are advised not to release their children and wards to the colleges until all the issues in dispute (particularly the restoration of JSS classes) are resolved so as not to put them in serious difficulties.

SOLOMON A. ONAGHINON ESQ.

           Secretary-General