It has been reported that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is poised for another showdown with the Federal Government over planned imposition of Integrated Personnel Payroll System (IPPIS) on its members. The leaders of the union had summoned an emergency National Executive Council meeting of the union where it was agreed that the leadership should begin mobilisation of members for an action against the Federal Government. President Muhammadu Buhari had reportedly directed that any worker not on the IPPIS would no longer receive salary.

The IPPIS was introduced in 2007 to check corruption in the public service and to eradicate the menace of “ghost workers.” The academic body has declared the act as “forceful, illegal and unsustainable attempts to stifle intellectual independence.” Basically, the law permits university autonomy, that is, universities have internal payment mechanism that is not subjected to government scrutiny. Obviously, someone wasn’t doing due diligence before enacting this system on the part of the government. On its part, ASUU, as a body of intellectuals, should be predisposed to any national interest-serving polices. Obviously, the Integrated Personnel Payroll System promotes accountability and relieves corruption. But a lot of academics in our public institutions especially, have turned themselves into semi-gods. The recent sting revelation of sex-for-marks scandals in our tertiary institutions exposes the degree of unholy autonomy these teachers have amassed for themselves.

There is no gainsaying that if you don't greet some lecturers, you won't pass that person’s course. It’s about time ASUU’s overlapping wings are clipped. Nigeria’s educational system is in doldrums and, definitely, we cannot move ahead with the current crop of academics in our tertiary institutions now. I laugh when I hear “Adjunct Lecturer”: It is so funny because you cannot have two jobs at once under the Public Service Rules in this country. Yet, university lecturers are reveling in this illegality.

It’s time for a change!

•Tasheyon writes from Lagos: Amosisaactobi@gmail.com

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