Following their threat to continue protesting indefinitely, Nigeria’s minister of education, Adamu Adamu, on Monday night met with the protesting students and pledged the commitment of the government towards addressing their concerns.
The minister, who had earlier walked out on the students on Monday morning over what he reportedly described as rude conduct of the student leaders, later met the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) at the headquarters of the National Universities Commission (NUC).
He assured the protesters that the striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will soon return to the classrooms.
In a terse statement issued late Monday night by the director of press at the ministry, Ben Goong, the minister said the ongoing negotiation process has been fruitful “and is expected to lead to a quick return of the striking lecturers back to classes.”
However, the director did not give the details of the meeting with the student leaders.
The minister was said to have expressed dissatisfaction with the way and manner he was spoken to by the NANS president, Sunday Asefon, who had reportedly accused the minister of feeling unconcerned about the plight of Nigerian students.
Apparently angered by the issues raised, the minister reportedly told the protesting students that the only thing worthy of note in the issues raised was the inclusion of students in the negotiation process.
With the minister at the meeting were the executive secretary of NUC, Abdulrasheed Abubakar, and the registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Ishaq Oloyede, among other officials of the agencies under the education ministry.
According to the NANS president, the decision to agree to meet the minister was to resolve the lingering crisis so that the students could go back to school.
He said the minister pleaded for understanding and that the conciliation meeting would continue today towards ending the strike.
The four-week warning strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on February 14 is already in its third week.
However, ASUU and the government delegation are scheduled to meet later today (Tuesday) to continue the conciliation meeting.
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