National Association of Nigeria Colleges of Education Students (NANCES) has called on the federal government to meet the demands of striking Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) within 14 days or risk nationwide mass protest.
The aggrieved students, who issued this ultimatum yesterday, in Abuja, lamented that College of Education lecturers have been on a warning strike since June 14, 2022, and waiting for the government to heed to their demands.
They also stressed that the perpetual industrial action by the College of Education Academic Staff Union as the only tool to press home their demands is an organised crime against students’ careers and educational pursuits.
The national president of NANCES, Comrade Aminu Habibu, said that the lingering COEASU strike has been disrupted students’ quest and thirst for knowledge, hence the decision to embark on a mass protest tagged, #BringUsbacktoourcampuses.
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Habibu declared that the government has failed to prioritize the Colleges of education sector, hence the failure to deploy necessary funds for complete overhauling of colleges of education sector and total revitalization of teachers’ education in Nigeria, through a meaningful budgetary allocation to the sector in line with the importance of teachers education to the development of Nigeria as a nation.
Furthermore, the students called on the federal government to immediately implement the N50,000 bursary allocation approved by the current government as an appreciation and encouragement for all teachers in making and N70,000 for education students.
They equally called for the compulsory engagement of the NCE students in the Federal Teachers Scheme (FTS) as they are renowned, trained, and qualified teachers for basic and secondary education.