By: Ann Koenig, AACRAO IES
A strike of Nigerian public university employees called by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on July 1, 2013, finally ended in December. The strike by the AAU, which represents lecturers and academic staff at Nigeria’s public universities, followed on the heels of a three-month strike by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), which had closed Nigerian polytechnics earlier in 2013. Both unions took strike action due to what they deemed the government’s failure to act on its 2009 promise to increase funding for the higher education sector and improve employment conditions of instructors.
Most universities planned to resume lectures during the first week of January. Many institutions have posted revised academic calendars on their Web sites, showing the adjusted dates for the academic year and final examinations. Links to the Web sites of the public universities can be found on the Web site of the National Universities Commission.