President Bola Tinubu’s decision to discard the directive requiring tertiary institutions, including colleges of education, to remit 40% of their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to the national treasury has received commendation from the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU). The President of COEASU, Smart Olugbeko, expressed his appreciation for Tinubu’s receptive stance and urged the Federal Government to also reevaluate the centralization of payroll administration through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
Olugbeko highlighted that the IPPIS policy not only encroaches upon the statutory functions of the Governing Councils but also undermines the integrity of the tertiary education sector, specifically the College of Education system. He emphasized that the implementation of IPPIS has resulted in various issues such as underpayment, non-payment, unjustified delays, and withholding of third-party deductions for COEASU members.
In response to the suspension of the 40% IGR remittance, COEASU expressed immense satisfaction with the President’s decision and acknowledged the prudence in halting the implementation of the policy to avoid unnecessary conflict between the government and labour unions.
Furthermore, Olugbeko urged President Tinubu to extend this responsive approach to address funding challenges within the College of Education system and other tiers of the tertiary education sector. He stressed the importance of maintaining industrial harmony through constructive engagement, social dialogue, and proactive bargaining guided by mutual respect and flexibility.
COEASU also urged the President to proactively resolve issues through social dialogue and collective bargaining, emphasizing the need to reconsider the centralization of payroll administration using IPPIS. Olugbeko underscored that IPPIS contravenes global best practices in tertiary institution management and disregards the unique attributes of the College of Education system.
Additionally, COEASU raised concerns about the unlawful dismissal of Governing Councils, the overdue renegotiation of COEASU-FG 2010 agreement, inadequate monthly running grants for College of Education managements, delayed release of funds, outsourced services, and the implementation of special bursaries and grants for education students in universities and colleges of education.
