ASUU STRIKE UPDATE: New Lecturers Resumes Work At AAUA To Replace Striking Ones

The crisis between the embattled members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities [ASUU], Adekunle Ajasin University [AAUA], Ondo state and their management is now deepened as new lecturers have been employment to replace the striking lecturers.

Recall that when we visited the campus last Monday, some old lecturers were seen in various lecture rooms teaching , thinking the AAUA authorities and the striking workers have agreed to end the five months old strike.

However, with a statement later issued by the AAUA ASUU's Chairman,
Dr. Meruyi Mekusi, insisting that they will not call off the strike
until their national body orders them to do so might have forced the
management to recruit new lecturers.

Relatively, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Femi Mimiko,
has charged the newly recruited lecturers to key into the work ethics
of the Institution and always observe the values of the teaching
profession.

Prof. Mimiko, who also enjoined the academics to be loyal to the
University at all times, gave the charge on Monday last week at the
Opening Ceremony of a two-day orientation programme organized by the
Institution for the new academics.

The VC said, "Our expectations from you on the job are to be in
constant search for knowledge and devise the innovative way of
dissemination. There must not be mention of you in anything that is
not worthy. Be role models to students and enhance their moral
standard. You must be like counselors to them at all times. Be shapers
of opinions. Engage in constructive criticism of society. Be solution
generators. Be focused and play a big role in national development.

"AAUA is a public trust that is dedicated to building leaders. You
must, therefore, be loyal to the system. We expect you to give to this
University an undiluted loyalty. We just launched AAUA ALWAYS as a new
campaign. The message is that you must think about this University at
all times."

While the VC commended them for being found worthy of employment after
rigorous interviews, he said that the orientation became necessary to
expose them to AAUA culture.


He said, "This induction is to expose you to our own peculiar form of
pedagogy that we want you to imbibe and to continue to sustain."

The VC was one of the four resource persons at the orientation
programme and he spoke on "Who is an Academic?"

He said the new intakes were supposed to teach, engage in research and
community service.
Prof. Mimiko urged those among them who were yet to earn Ph. D. to
pursue it vigorously, saying, "For us, Ph. D. is a must have. Those
who are yet to possess the Ph. D. should know that the most important
thing that we will ask when you get here is, 'How far you are going in
the pursuit of knowledge, leading to the award of the Ph. D?"

He promised that the University would give them support to undertake
Ph.D. Programme in any University of their choice.

Other speakers were the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Rotimi Ajayi,
who spoke on "Academic Profession in the 21st Century"; Prof. Francis
Oyebade, who examined "AAUA Academic Culture"; and Prof. Niyi
Akinnaso, who spoke on "21st Century Teaching".