Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said universities in the country will not reopen until the Federal Government honours the agreement it struck with the union.

ASUU National President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, stated this while speaking at a town hall meeting at the African Hall, the University of Ilorin.

Ogunyemi insisted that the agreement must be honoured, before the federal government makes any announcement on reopening of universities.

He made it clear that ASUU would unfold its next agenda, if the government refuses to negotiate the 2009 agreement signed by both parties.

“I think it is better we wait. When we get to that bridge, we will cross it.

“I can’t open our strategy here; whatever you do is about strategy; let the government refuse to negotiate, we will unfold our strategy then,” Ogunyemi said.

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According to him, ASUU went on strike since March, because of the government’s insensitivity to university education in the country.

Ogunyemi said some of the union’s demands included funding of university education, which the government had reneged on in the last 10 years.

“There is a deliberate attempt to kill university education in the country. Some universities use stoves in their laboratories instead of burners and buckets to fetch water to perform experiments; it’s as bad as that,” he said

As a precautionary measure, the director decided to suspend all face-to-face lessons from Friday September 11 until Friday 25 inclusive.

The École centrale de Lyon identifies, Tuesday, September 22, 252 cases of Covid-19 among its students, after several test campaigns. 106 students and a member of staff tested positive during the last screening campaign held on September 16 and 17 on campus. “Half of the students who test positive are asymptomatic. The other half show signs of influenza. None have developed a serious form of infection.”, specified the direction of the establishment which counts approximately 1,500 pupils.

The first positive tests on students were carried out on September 7 after the identification of a “zero case” who participated in a private party in Lyon before the start of the school year. The contact cases were then isolated and distance education set up for the students concerned during their period of quarantine. Students were widely encouraged to get tested.

On September 11, as a precautionary measure, the director finally decided to suspend all face-to-face lessons until Friday 25 inclusive and generalized distance courses.

On September 16 and 17, a large-scale screening piloted by the ARS, the SDMIS (Departmental-Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Service), the HCL (Hospices Civils de Lyon) and the School was organized on the campus . In all, 513 people were therefore tested.

“The protocol set up at the École Centrale de Lyon respects the recommendations of the ministry and the ARS (Regional Health Agency), in conjunction with the Prefecture and the Rectorate. It is adjusted in real time according to the ‘evolution of the situation“, indicates the École centrale de Lyon