The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has described the online matriculation ceremony organised by Osun State University as a scam.
The union in a release signed by its Ibadan Zonal Coordinator, Professor Ade Adejumo in Ibadan, described the virtual matriculation as a charade.
Recall that the Vice-Chancellor of UNIOSUN, Professor Labode Popoola led other officials of the university to conduct the ceremony for 3388 new students last Wednesday.
But ASUU stated that UNIOSUN cannot compete effectively as it lacks the infrastructure to execute e-learning delivery, maintaining that many public varsities are made weak by the non-existence of ICT infrastructure, adding that government must fund ICT infrastructure if it is interested in delivery e-learning in Post COVID-19 era.
The union condemned the VC’s action, alleging that he was aiming to use the matriculation to get financial favour from the federal government, stressing that its strike was still on to get the federal government commit funds to infrastructure, including Information, Communication and Technology, which is central to online delivery mode.
The Ibadan Zone of ASUU comprised University of Ibadan, Ladoke Akintola University, University of Ilorin, Kwara State University and Osun State University.
According to the union, the university has succeeded in exposing the hapless students whose parents are experiencing non-payment of salaries, amputated salaries, disengagement and rightsizing due to the ongoing COVID- 19 pandemic ravaging the world, to the exploitation of cybercafé operators.
ASUU noted that the poor students do not have the wherewithal to cope with financial demands of online learning, saying, this is why ASUU is on strike to make government fund revatilisation of infrastructure, including ICT.
The statement read, “In the UNIOSUN’s Vice- Chancellor’s heart of heart, can he honestly beat his chest that all the students of that University have wherewithal to key into his e-learning platform?
“Moreso, given the fact that majority of the students are from very humble backgrounds, is this policy not a ploy to shut out such students from accessing the teaching and learning interaction?
“Mr Vice-Chancellor should come out clearly to tell the nation what his real motives are?
“We suspect, the motivation here is financial rather than altruistic. Is this another antic to undermine ASUU that the VC knows is currently on strike? To this, we say anyone who works at cross-purposes with our Union’s patriotic struggle to improve funding of public universities, is an enemy of the people.”
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