PTAN begs FG, ASUU over extension of strike

By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna

The National President Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria (PTAN), Alhaji Haruna Danjuma has expressed total dissatisfaction over the extension of ASUU strike by additional 2 months, saying the extension would have devastative implication to the educational sector across the 36 states in the country.

The association also urged the States and Federal house of assembly to equally intervene in the matter by bring back both the two parties to round table dialogue, while calling on religious leaders and traditional title holder and other educational stake holders to appeal to ASUU.

It equally called on Non governmental organization (NGo), UNICEF, UNESCO in the country to equally appealed to both ASUU and Federal to work toward bringing an end to the continuous strike, in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna.

Danjuma said, “we were hoping that at the end of the one month warning strike by ASUU, that, both govt and the Union will have come to an agreement ,but it really unfortunate that ,they are going on another strike, we strongly believed it’ll affect our students and the standard of education across the country.

He said, “ASUU has extended its warning strike for another two months”, adding that the decision to extend the strike was taken at the union’s National Executive Council, (NEC) meeting which was held last night at in Abuja.

According to him, any additional months at home would have a serious consequences to the educational sector including Economy,agriculture,

“We don’t want our boys back home, we prefer seeing dialogue between the two parties that would solved the strike”:

“The strike comes with increase in price of foodstuff, high cost of petroleum and general insecurity challenges beveling peace stability in the country,

“We don’t want our children to spend 3 month at home because of strike,”

“We are begging on federal government to as a matter of urgency go back and resolved their problems with ASUU”, he said.

Further more PTA appealed To ASUU to “please and please have a rethink over the issues” ,while calling on federal government to listen to their demand, in order to save their children from wasting more time at home.

The national president still “beg federal government to save all the abducted school student that were still in bandits and other terrorist captivities, and called for total protection of all boarding schools to halt activities of bandits, Boko haram, kidnappers causing a serious setback to our educational system.

Similarly, an interfaith specialist in Nigeria, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani, who is the national president, foundation for the protection of women and children in the country has draw the attention of ASUU and federal government on the importance of Dialogue as a way toward in tackling any problem bedeviling progress and development

She stressed that many student would have no choice than to stay at home, and hence the need by both the ASUU and FG to do the needful.