NITDA had just lately issued a press
release, saying UTAS did not cross sure high quality assurance assessments
performed by the company.
However the president of ASUU, Emmanuel
Osodeke, a professor, mentioned NITDA’s “rush” to the press was to “misinform
the general public and politicise the method”.
In keeping with him, NITDA is but to report
back to the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, who’s the chief
conciliator.
NITDA’s assertion
NITDA wrote within the assertion that; “An
in depth Performance/Person Acceptance Take a look at on the platform was
carried out by our group. A complete of 687 take a look at circumstances had
been generated wherein 529 handed, 156 failed and two cautionary warnings. As
among the failed circumstances are crucial to the general performance of the
answer, the company couldn’t advocate for the answer to be deployed in a
manufacturing setting.”
It added: “Nonetheless, one Medium Threat,
three Low Dangers and 44 Informational Dangers had been recognized.”
In the meantime, citing a report issued by
NITDA, the PUNCH reported that UTAS handed by 99.3 per cent.
ASUU reacts
Talking to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Osodeke
accused NITDA of intentionally delaying and irritating the method of the
adoption of UTAS.
He mentioned the union and NITDA agreed to
satisfy on Monday March 28, however NITDA launched its assertion on Saturday
when “we’ve got not even completed the method”.
“We now have not even completed the method.
We now have not completed for Monday, you have got gone to the press. You
haven’t reported again to the physique that requested the testing,” he
mentioned in a phone dialog.
Mr Osodeke added that the union declined to
signal the doc as a result of NITDA refused to incorporate among the
suggestions as “mere” suggestions, as a substitute of tagging them as main in
its report.
He mentioned the testing performed on UTAS
by NITDA could possibly be completed in three days, however the authorities
company instructed ASUU they might solely conduct the testing for 3 hours a
day. “That too, excluding weekends.”
“After we obtained there we had been
instructed they will solely meet with us from 2 o’clock within the afternoon.
They mentioned 2p.m to 4p.m or 2p.m to 5p.m, which is simply three hours a
day,” he mentioned.
He added: “We raised the problem that if
you already know this factor is essential, why can’t you spend two days and end
it? We didn’t know they’d ulterior motives.
“If you happen to look at the press launch
by them, they mentioned it took two weeks, simply to create the impression in
public that it was completed for lengthy.”
No scorecard
Mr Osodeke mentioned at the start of the
method, ASUU requested a template used within the testing and the way NITDA
determines when UTAS cross or failed a take a look at, however NITDA instructed
them there was no any.
Mr Osodeke likened the scenario to “examin(ing)
a scholar and adjudging any rating I like as cross or fail.”
“Does it make sense? You must set a
regular. They are saying they don’t have a regular,” he mentioned
He added: “For the primary two days, we
requested them to offer us the template for testing in order that we all know
at what stage do you say this factor has handed and at what stage do you say it
failed?. What can we rating to inform us that you’ve met the minimal, that we
are able to transfer on to the following stage, however they are saying they
don’t have it. Inform us the indices of crucial significance. They are saying
they don’t have any.”
In keeping with Mr Osodeke, NITDA doesn’t
perceive the peculiarities of the colleges as one of many objects it requested
ASUU to take away from UTAS was its universality, which he famous makes it
simpler to incorporate names of individuals with characters.
He mentioned: “In creating the UTAS, we
made it versatile such that if somebody comes from China, his identify might be
captured, if somebody comes from Israel, his identify might be captured, when
the individual is Yoruba when you have got small-small dots all over the
identify, it may be captured. However they mentioned due to these ones it
didn’t cross.
“We spent a very long time arguing {that a}
college just isn’t a nigerian-based organisation solely. It’s common, it must
be versatile. However they insisted that we must always take away it and we
must always make it English alone. We instructed them to place it in writing
that they’re the one directing us to place it in English alone in order that in
future once we can not seize someone we’ll maintain you accountable”.
NITDA responds
When PREMIUM TIMES sought NITDA’S response,
the pinnacle of company affairs and exterior relations at the company, Hadiza
Umar, mentioned: “we’ve got made our stand within the press launch issued final
week”.
In keeping with the mentioned assertion
launched on March 28, NITDA’S interplay with ASUU has “positively impacted” the
performance of UTAS.
“There is no such thing as a doubt that the
train has positively impacted on the performance and robustness of the UTAS
platform. Moreover, we consider that the interplay availed ASUU the chance to
know and respect NITDA’s dedication and stage of professionalism exhibited in
finishing up its duties,” the assertion reads partially.
It added: “Contemplating the problem
encountered, the evaluation methodology needed to be reviewed to facilitate
every day remediation of crucial points as they happen. This, though not in
NITDA’s Commonplace Working Process for workouts comparable to this, was
adopted. Consideration was made to the nationwide significance connected to the
train in addition to the necessity to full it in a fairly shorter time frame.
“The eye of stakeholders and most people is
drawn to the necessity for the UTAS platform to be sufficiently strong with key
functionalities applied earlier than being deployed to the manufacturing
setting.
“Nonetheless, the evaluation revealed that
the Resolution, as it’s at present applied, is proscribed.
“There are crucial functionalities that
should be applied, examined and handed earlier than the Resolution might be
thought-about to satisfy NITDA’s due diligence necessities.
“These areas of enchancment have been
totally documented and shared with the ASUU group for mandatory motion. It’s
anticipated that ASUU will enhance on the areas recognized, work on the safety
points flagged and resubmit the Resolution for additional evaluation.”
‘No work, No pay’
Reacting to the specter of invoking the ‘No
work-No pay’ clause by the federal government, the ASUU president mentioned the
implication of such a risk is that the most effective arms would proceed to
depart the nation.
Mr Osodeke gave an occasion of the inflow
of Nigerian medical doctors to different nations, which he mentioned was a
results of the same risk by the federal government.
He mentioned: “He (Mr Ngige) declared that
with medical doctors after they had been on strike. What occurred? They left.
We at the moment are paying for that mouthing by Ngige. That factor he
mentioned, Nigeria is paying heavigly for it because the medical doctors are
leaving.
“If he continues with what he’s saying, at
the tip of the day, the great arms, the great professors will go away the
nation, then we pays the worth.
“It’s simply so unlucky we don’t appoint
those that have capability to cause, to consider the longer term, to go very
crucial sectors of the Nigerian state.”
Backstory
The adoption of UTAS to interchange IPPIS
for the fee of workers salaries within the college system is among the calls
for by ASUU that should be addressed earlier than it may name off its ongoing
three months strike that started on February 14.
Different calls for embody the
renegotiation of the 2009 federal government-ASUU settlement on the working
situations of Nigerian teachers, the fee of earned tutorial allowances,
revitalisation fund for universities, and distortions within the fee of
salaries, funding of state universities, and the discharge of white papers on
the visitation panels despatched to the colleges.
Whereas the minister of schooling has
launched the names of the groups to draft the white papers from the studies of
the visitation panels, the federal government is but to inaugurate them to
begin work.