KAFANCHAN Kaduna (Sundiata Scholar) – The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) Gidan Waya, Kaduna State chapter, has commended Gov. Uba Sani for approving and disbursing N45million for the accreditation of NCE and B-ed programmes in the school.
This is contained in a statement signed by Dr Marajos Alkali and Stephen Dutse, Chairman and Secretary, respectively of the union on Thursday in Kafanchan.
The union described the move as a clear testament to the Governor’s commitment to making the education sector a top priority.
They said the move would help in addressing the deficit in facilities and infrastructure in the school.
The union appealed to relevant authorities of the institution, to ensure the funds were judiciously and transparently applied for the purposes it was intended.
They reiterated that as a pressure group, they would monitor and scrutinize all disbursements, procurements and expenditure relating to the funds to ensure proper utilization.
“We will not hesitate to blow the whistle should any shady deal be discovered,” the union said.
Theyi also appealed to the governor to adopt and implement the recently revised Polytechnic and Colleges of Education salary structure released by the Federal Government in September.
“It will interest his Excellency to note that Kaduna State owned tertiary institutions are the least paid in the country with the exception of the state university.
“Regrettably, staff of both Kaduna State College of Education and the state polytechnic are paid with an obsolete mutilated 80 per cent salary structure.
“This has led to the ever increasing cases of brain drain, especially of academic staff of these institutions,” the union added.
It also bemoaned the stringent conditions the state government attached to the 65 years retirement age policy in all tertiary institutions.
“The condition stipulates that for an academic staff to retire at 65 years, such a staff must have a PhD obtained on or before the age of 55 years.
“The union wishes to passionately appeal to the governor to kindly remove such conditions in line with the College Law 2018, as amended,” they said.
On the institution’s funding challenges, the union noted that the last time the school received its monthly subvention was in February 2023.
It urged the governor to consider exempting the institution from the Single Treasury Account to enable it generate revenue and fulfill some of its financial obligations. ( NAN)